October

Happy birthday Paula!

Now I'm all packed and ready to go. I love having extra time before I leave for a long trip. It gives me time to relax and to possibly remember any last minute things. And I love waking up early. I got to see the sunrise this morning (as much as I can see with all the buildings in the way). But over the 59th Street Bridge was a nice pink/orange sky. I took a picture. One day I need to actually leave the apartment before sunrise so I can get a better picture (and get something other than the little strip of sky in between 2 big buildings).

Last night I got all caught up on my pointless listmaking (including my pointless theatre list).

And because I'm cheesy, I just downloaded Murray Head's "One Night in Bangkok" (because it was easier than finding my "Chess" CD). I just felt like listening to it before I leave.

I'm in Bangkok!

Got to the airport in record time, and while waiting to check in, (thanks to George Carlin) started laughing at the announcement that said, "If you leave your luggage unattended, your bags will be taken and may be DESTROYED". Then I tried to stop laughing in case the next announcement was, "No laughing is permitted in this airport. Please refrain from laughing until you are well outside the airport vicinity." I also had to laugh at some of the safety announcements onboard (especially when one of the flight attendants told the guy next to me to "put his seat back forward"- according to George Carlin, if he was able to get in this position, he'd never leave his house).

The flight was long, and I wasn't able to fall asleep until 2.5 hours before landing. And at 1.5 hours before landing, the flight attendent woke me up for breakfast. I did get to watch 3 movies though- "Kangaroo Jack" (as awful as I expected it to be), "Down With Love" (seen it already, but it was cute, so I didn't mind seeing it again), and "Alex and Emma" (seen that one already as well and didn't like it, but what else is there to do on such a long flight?).

On the flight from Tokyo to Bangkok, I only managed to sleep on and off for a few minutes. I would have watched the movie, but while "Down With Love" was a cute movie, I had no desire to see it for a third time a few hours after I saw it for the second time. Why couldn't they have shown a different movie? Although, all the movies they listed in their in-flight magazine were pretty crappy. But I did continue the Renee Zellweger theme and listened to the "Chicago" movie soundtrack on one of the airplane stations- "Oh, yes, oh yes, oh yes, oh yes, they both, oh yes, they both, oh yes, they both reached for, the gun, the gun, the gun, the gun, oh yes, they both reached for the gun, for the gun" (love that part).

I got through immigration and customs without too much trouble (what a relief- now I just have to hope for the same ease in Vietnam) and made it to the hotel in much less time than I expected (and it was POURING). I was wired when I checked in, so no sleep for me. Instead I read my Social Psychology book and watched TV (and continued the Renee Zellweger theme by watching an interview with the people involved in "Down With Love"). I can't get away from this movie. Guess they think marketing to people in Asia is a good idea since it didn't work too well in the States. I'm glad Neil's not checking in for another couple days- don't know what I would have done with myself all night if he was here.

Since I was up all night and getting bored with sitting around the hotel room, I had breakfast this morning as soon as the restaurant opened at 6:00. Like Hong Kong, this upscale Asian hotel has great fruit in their buffet. I tried 2 new ones- Mangosteen (too sweet for me) and Jackfruit (yum) and had some papya, honeydew, pineapple, and lychee as well. Then I walked down the street to use the ATM, took a walk around the block (it's hot and humid but not raining... yet), read more of my Social Psychology book, and am now checking email, etc. I'm just killing time until things are open. Soon, I plan on going to the National Museum and do some more sightseeing around there. Oh, the reason I have today free is because Jeffrey has a driver to help with the convention centre set-up and doesn't need me. So I have a whole day off that I wasn't expecting. More time to explore Bangkok!

The show starts later on the weekdays, so I have time for an update this morning.

On Friday, I took a taxi to the National Museum. It was huge and some of it was interesting, but it was dark inside many of the rooms so it was hard to read the plaques and some of the plaques were only in Thai. Then I took a Tuk-Tuk around for the rest of the afternoon. He took me sightseeing (got to see many buddhas) and also insisted on taking me to some stores (gotta get those kickbacks, right?). I was a good sport and looked around all the shops and even decided to buy a custom-made suit. Why not? One can always use a suit and it should be guaranteed to fit (I'm going for a fitting later today). So I had a nice 3 hour tour (fortunately, not on a boat, right Gilligan?) for under 1USD- most things are very inexpensive here. I tried to take the water taxi back to the hotel since there is way too much traffic on the streets. For some reason, I thought I'd be able to recognise the area near the hotel and get off there. Well, they put the tarp up on the boat so we wouldn't get splashed and I couldn't really see where we were going. Later, an Australian man got on and I asked him if we were close to the World Trade Center (which is near my hotel), and it turned out we passed it- didn't feel like we had gone that far. So I got off and, after walking around some open markets and passing a zillion street vendors (and I thought New York had a lot of street vendors- there are SO MANY MORE here), took a taxi the rest of the way (and sat in mucho traffic). Unfortunately, I was so busy having my adventure, I didn't manange to take many pictures. Hopefully I'll take more on the rest of the trip.

I was exhausted after wandering around all day and practically not eating or sleeping for 48 hours, so I relaxed in the courtyard at the hotel with a few drinks. There are birds that walk around waiting for you to feed them- they really are persistent beggars. Birds like that really irritate me.

So far, it's been cloudy and humid but hasn't rained since I got in. Unfortunately, it's the most cloudy at night which means no stars. Maybe it will be clear in Hanoi, but Mr. Murphy is probably planning a storm for those days when I'm on the boat.

The Regent Hotel is wonderful. Very service oriented! You talk to someone once for a minute and they remember your name a few days later. They give you a real human wake-up call plus a "snooze button" call as a reminder at the time you specify as well as bring you complimentary coffee or tea.

The other day, I got an email back from the hotel in Hanoi replying to my re-confirming my reservation and airport pickup. I had sent the email in a reply with the information about my reservation, so I was a bit confused as to why their reply said that they didn't have a reservation for me. That made me nervous, but I think it's straightened out now (or at least I really hope it is).

The convention centre is HUGE! The first morning, the taxi driver didn't know where to drop me off (and of course I didn't know where to go), so I wound up wandering around a bit to find the right place. Fortuantely, there was no traffic on the weekend and I was early. Then I had difficulty getting a badge but someone finally found me a temporary one. That one fell off early and I had no idea where it went, but our Thai interpreter (who actually isn't very useful since her English is not so good) knew someone working there and got me a press badge. This press badge got me nowhere. That was especially annoying when they wouldn't let me back in while the princess was there. This paragraph is so jumbled, but I don't have time to sort it out. The princess came to the centre on the first day for 4 hours. They kicked out the public but we were to stay at our booths to make it look real for her. That's when I couldn't get back in, but it didn't really matter since there were others at our booths and it's not like there would be any clients that I could have been helping. This show is a big deal to the Thai people (they have a marching band every morning and it looks like the entire population of Bangkok and beyond is showing up (except for the serious people- 99% of the people who come to our booth aren't serious buyers at all- they just come to look). Our Thai interpreter (I believe her name is something like Soupran- I know I spelled that wrong) immediately attached herself to me and wouldn't leave me alone the entire day. During the time when we were stuck outside because of the princess, she took me to the other halls where we walked around the stalls where they sold an amazing amount of stuff (they do love their shopping here) and then to the Science/Tech exhibit (which wasn't too exciting). George's booth is across from ours and they seem to be even worse off than we are- he kept coming over to chat and saying that he just wants to go home- they actually left at noon the first day when the princess came and didn't come back until the next day. Linda is with him, and they're going to Angkor Wat in the middle of the week- nice for them. Jeffrey and Ann are going somewhere in the middle of the week as well. The first day at the centre was exhausting- it went until 8:00 (we're leaving at 6:00 from now on since it's ridiculous to not get back into town until 9:30 or 10:00 every night). I was exhausted from doing nothing all morning, walking around and trying to communicate in broken English all afternoon, and my feet were killing me in my dress shoes which also contributed to my exhaustion (I'm wearing my sandals from now on- not worth killing my feet).

Last night, I had drinks and dinner with Jeffrey, Ann, and Rob. Nice to finally do something social and nice to have real and spicy Thai food (unlike the crap in the food hall at the convention centre).

Neil arrived late last night after a long and uneventful flight. Tomorrow night we're going out to an Italian restaurant for his birthday.

I leave for Hanoi in 2 days.

Happy birthday Neil!

Yesterday was hectic at the show only because of odds and ends to take care of (bringing heavy packages from my hotel in the morning, dealing with Fed-Ex/customs, sending faxes...). I left early to go try on my suit and brought Neil there with me (he bought several shirts), and then we had dinner at The Spice Market (the Thai restaurant here at our hotel). After Neil went to sleep, I went over the the Hyatt for a drink (they have a real bar unlike our hotel). After getting searched at the door (I guess APEC is causing tighter security- fine with me!!), I sat at a bar table and 2 minutes later, a Thai woman sat down with me (her name was something like Foult). Don't know why she'd want to sit with me rather than find a nice Western man to sit with (she looked like that's what she came for), but it was interesting to talk to her. She was an illiterate woman (she kept telling me over and over how was illiterate and very stupid) from Bangkok who lived in LA for 2 years. She was extremely skinny yet said she was fat after having 2 kids- she ordered an iced tea but barely drank any. There was a band at the bar that was pretty awful, so I didn't want to stay long- just had the one drink and went back to my hotel.

Today is possibly my last day at the show (I might go back on Monday and I might not). Tonight is dinner at Zanotti for Neil's birthday. Tomorrow I leave for Hanoi!

Zanotti!!!!! (I'll explain later)

Yesterday was quiet at the show. Rob and Jeffrey took the day off, so it was just me and Soupran. Her English is getting better the more we talk, so we talked about all kinds of things yesterday (mostly language, culture, business and the similarities and differences between our countries- it's been great learning from her).

It was raining last night, so the traffic on the expressway, which until now hasn't been a problem, was horrible! I got back to the hotel to meet Neil, and when we tried to take a taxi to Zanotti for dinner, they said the traffic was too bad and to take the sky-train. I was excited to take the sky-train (so I could experience almost all public transportation in Bangkok) but figured it would be difficult to find the restaurant from the stop. I was right. We had directions from our hotel, but that didn't help. I stopped in an Irish pub (figured they would speak English there), but they weren't very helpful either. Then I called the restaurant, but I couldn't really understand her. Then Neil called the taxi driver we had the other day since his English was so good, but he didn't understand what Neil was asking. Then I called Ann (Jeffrey's wife) and she told me which way to go, but we still weren't finding it. We kept walking and found an Enlish speaking school, and they gave us the same directions as our hotel and Ann, but we still didn't have any luck. We found the Dusit Thani (a nice hotel right near Zanotti), and they also gave us the same directions. Supposedly, we were only 2 blocks away. Eventually, we gave up and just had dinner at the Dusit Thani since we were hot, tired, and very hungry (our journey had taken 2.5 hours). Paula and Harvey had better luck. They were able to take a cab from their hotel, so they had dinner at Zanotti without us.

Now I just have to finish packing and head to the airport. I'm really looking forward to being in a city than isn't as westernised. Last night while trying to find the hotel, we walked past a zillion American and British businesses (I did appreciate finding a Boots though since I ran out of eye drops a few hours before and really needed some more) and a zillion street vendors selling crap. So, Hanoi should be a nice change of pace.

Tomorrow I leave early in the morning for Ha Long Bay. Can't wait! Hopefully it won't be raining (I've given up on a clear sky to see stars).

I'm back in Bangkok now. The arrival of APEC is even more noticeable now- there are "Welcome APEC delegates" signs every few feet. And most things will be closed the week while they're here. Why? So there isn't as much traffic! Nice reason for a holiday.

Thursday morning I had to take a motorbike to meet the bus. I was a little nervous about riding on the back of one of them, but it was a short distance and not a big deal. The bus to Ha Long Bay was okay. We stopped at a rest stop on the way where they sold a bunch of trinkets, clothing, and other stuff. The stuff was made there by children who were handicapped from agent orange and other war-related illnesses- we watched them weaving on small looms. All but 2 people on my bus were Vietnamese (the other 2 were a couple from France, so I got to pratice my French a bit- that was nice).

It was hot, humid, and hazy the entire time. The bug repelant didn't seem to really work. Or maybe it did, and I would have 50 bites if I didn't use it as opposed to the 15 or so that I do have. Other minor problems- my back and neck were bothering me for a few days for some reason (I'm fine now though).

When we got to Ha Long Bay, we had lunch at a tourist hotel and then boarded the boat. The boat had a few different groups on it, so I met some English speaking people (even one from the States- I was beginning to think I was the only American in north Vietnam). We walked through a few caves on one of the islands (they were completely set up for tourists- stairs, lights...). That was okay, but nothing special. On the way to Cat Ba Island, I talked with 2 guys (one from Israel and one from Ireland)- they were big flirts, but it was nice to pass the time talking to people. I also met a sweet girl from Japan who just finished teaching Japanese to children in Thailand. There were also some obnoxious girls (I thought they were from the US) on the boat. They brought all the comforts of home- CD player with speakers (so we all had to listen to their crappy music), vodka, games... they were really getting on my nerves. Later, I found out that 2 of them were actually Canadian- I was very surprised. We stopped to swim in the bay, but I didn't bring anything to swim in- oh well.

When we got to Cat Ba Island, all but 5 of us got off the boat. So, four others slept on the boat with me, and it was a wonderful group. Melissa and Robyn (2 friends- one from Ottawa, one from Toronto), Garrett (the guy from the States- from Oregon), and Lars (from Denmark- didn't find out from where exactly). We had dinner on the boat, talked a lot about travel (and ranted about Americans- we were all in agreement), and then played some cards. Later, we went up to the upper deck and hung out, talking more about travel and world politics (it's great talking with fellow travelers- people who travel really do know more about the world than people who don't). Garrett had a joint, so we lit that up, drank some vodka, and had a lovely evening talking and playing 20 questions. It was really a perfect evening. I even got to see the almost-full moon, Mars, and on and off saw 7 stars (most of the time the sky was completely cloudy though). It was a gorgeous night, so we set up some matresses and slept on the upper deck. The guys working on the boat were trying to play matchmaker and tried to get us to sleep in male/female couples- they were really funny about it.

The next morning, we had a quick breakfast and then picked up the masses on Cat Ba. I met a super-nice couple from Holland and spent most of the boat ride back talking with them. And I found out that Garrett also keeps a list of all the movies he's ever seen- nice to know there's another crazy person out there. Everyone I've met are travelling for at least 4 months (most are travelling for a year). I wish I could travel longer on this trip, but I can't imagine travelling for months at a time. I always think of myself as nomadic, but compared to many travelers, I'm very stable.

My guide was staying on Cat Ba, so he told me to go with someone else. I was a bit confused about where to go. Everyone else's group was organised and unchanging. I got off the boat and walked with another group until a man told me to wait somewhere for the bus. I saw 2 people I recognised from my group the day before, and that made me feel better. When we got to the hotel for lunch, most of the other people in my group were there as well. We boarded a different bus with another group to go back to Hanoi. One couple in that other group missed the bus, so we had to go back for them. The woman wound up sitting in the pull-down seat next to me and kept falling asleep on my shoulder, which was annoying since she did not smell very pleasant.

We got dropped off in the middle of Hanoi, and I took a motorbike back to my hotel- I was much more comfortable on this ride. Actually, it was wonderful to ride in the open air since it was so hot on the bus.

That night in the hotel, I slept a lot! It was great to finally have a full night of sleep (I only slept on and off for a few hours on the boat- it was actually nice to keep waking up and reminding myself that I was indeed on a boat in the middle of Ha Long Bay- it was so beautiful).

Yesterday morning, I went to the Military Museum and the Ethnology Museum (went by motorbike, which had become a super-convenient way to travel- it looks much scarier watching it than when you're on one). The Ethnology Museum was huge- there are 54 minorities in Vietnam, so how small could the museum be? After a while, all the information started to be a blur, so I skipped the last bit of it. Then I came back to the hotel for a short rest, and then walked over to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in the 350% humidity. They were closed, so I took a motorbike to some other museums. The guy took me to the Women's Museum, the Temple of Literature/National University, a quick stop at a cafe, and then the Air Force Museum. It was great riding from place to place just for the breeze- it was REALLY hot and humid yesterday- Bangkok almost feels cool now.

I had a quick lunch (more soup) at an indoor market and then rested in the hotel "lobby" before my flight. I watched CNN and talked to the owner of the hotel. It's kind of nice watching CNN from time to time to keep up with things (California Governor, Iranian Nobel Prize Winner, Roy [as in Seigfried and Roy] getting attacked by tiger, MLB playoffs, chaos in Israel...). CNN does do a slightly better job with their overseas network than their US network.

It was great being in Hanoi and seeing local life (there are some things geared toward tourists, but for the most part, all you see are locals). It's a very social community (especially in the Old Quarter where I was staying) you see people working together, eating together, sitting around each other's houses- all the front entrances are open so you can really see almost all aspects of life there. Most people were very friendly.

A taxi picked me up ontime and I got to the airport with plenty of time to spare. There were 50 papers needed to get through to the gate, and somehow I always wound up giving the wrong one the first time. When I went through security, I had put all my papers in my bag to go through the screener, but that's when they needed my airport tax receipt, so I had to go get the receipt and then go back through security- confusing, but I finally made it. I was very hungry and there wasn't much to eat at the airport (just a few snacks at the duty free shop). I got a small can a Pringles which were 1.50USD- I gave them 2.00USD and they gave me change in Mentos. Hey, that works- I was exhausted and the mints were refreshing (after all, they are the "freshmaker").

I like Air France. They have individual video screens with lots of movie, tv, music, and games options (as opposed to Northwest's we'll-show-a-movie-when-we-feel-like-it-on-our-crappy-one-screen-for-everyone-screen), seats that already start out a bit reclined, more leg room and wider seats, and they don't seem to fill their planes so on the way back, I had the row to myself. Figures I could only take them for my shortest flight. We took off into a storm- it was gorgeous seeing the lightning up close.

I was the first one off the plane, the only one at passport control, didn't have any checked baggage, breezed right through customs, and there was no traffic on the way to the hotel, so I arrived at the hotel about 30 minutes after I stepped off the plane. If all travel was that smooth, I wouldnt mind it as much.

So, I feel extremely lucky to have been to Hanoi. I finally got to go to a place with very little westernisation. It was a great experience and would highly recommend a trip there.

Today I was going to go to Lopburi, but I decided not to for 2 reasons: 1. the train left at 7:00, so I would have to leave the hotel at 6:00, and I didn't get much sleep last night since Neil's snoring and tossing and turning kept me up for a long time. 2. I haven't been very productive with my own work and school on this trip, and I thought I should use my time wisely so I don't pay as much when I get home on Tuesday. So today I will work, study, and then head over to Paula and Harvey's hotel (I haven't seen them at all this trip since the Zanotti dinner didn't work out, so we're doing dinner [probably the Thai restaurant at their hotel, since they have dancing there as well, which hopefully will be authentic unlike many performances for tourists] before they leave to go back to Europe tonight). I'll get to their hotel early since it's on the river, and a little walk around there sounds like a nice relaxing activity.

Tomorrow is one more day of work, and then Tuesday morning I leave (VERY EARLY- I have to leave the hotel to go to the airport at 3:30 AM).

I wasn't as productive yesterday as I would have liked, but at least I did something.

Yesterday evening, I had a drink (Bemudiana Rose- Gin, Apricot Brandy, Grenadine, and Lemon Juice- delicious) with Paula at their hotel while Harvey took a nap. We got to watch the sun set behind the river. Even through the haze, it was pretty. Then we waited for Neil to arrive, and we had dinner at their hotel's Thai restaurant. I really enjoyed my satay, but I think I've had enough Thai food (actually, Asian food in general) for a while. I'm looking forward to getting home and having some pasta or something. It was nice to finally see Paula and Harvey- we all finally managed to be in the same city at the same time (it was strange to think that while I was in Hanoi, Paula was in Bangkok, and Harvey was in Hong Kong).

I am ready to be home, but I'm not ready to deal with reality. Hopefully I can at least get some sleep over the weekend in between dealing with 100 things.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I found another country to replace Thailand in my top-5-countries-to-visit. Laos. I knew I was interested in going there, but after talking with some people on the boat about it, I really want to go. I'll just have to find some time to return to southeast Asia (then I can see more of Thailand as well).

I gave up on getting anymore sleep tonight (I slept about 30 minutes)- Neil's snoring has made it impossible. Hopefully I can sleep on the plane.

Yesterday, we packed up our stuff at the show, and somehow I wound up with stuff to take back, but amazingly I mananged to fit it all in my bags without having to buy an extra bag (I'm still not sure how I managed to do that).

Last night I had dinner with Neil at the Dusit Thani hotel. Their security guards aren't as friendly as the ones at the Regent, but they're still friendlier than any guards I've seen in the US. I'm just glad I'm leaving the country rather than coming in when APEC is here.

In a little over an hour, it's off to the airport for the long flights home. It would be great if I could sleep on the flight from Tokyo to JFK, but I'd appreciate sleeping on the flight to Tokyo if that's all I can get. I have a long week ahead of me.

I'm home!

Getting through the Bangkok airport wasn't easy. First there was a long line to get the checked bags screened. Then, when I got to the line to check in, there was a woman pre-checking people. The screener people didn't put stickers on one of the bags I was going to check, so she told me to go back through while she held my passport. When I got back to the screeners, they wanted my passport. I tried to explain that the woman had it and I had already gone through once- I showed them the stickers one my suitcase, and that seemed to be okay. I went back to the woman to get my passport and got checked in. Then after paying the airport tax and clearing passport control, I went to the money changing counter. They weren't open. I got to the gate as they were checking people to board. I finally got on the plane after showing my passport 8 times through the airport. I guess it's APEC causing the tighter security (since it wasn't that difficult to get out when I flew to Hanoi), although I don't know why they'd be so careful with people LEAVING the country.

The flight to Tokyo was pretty annoying. The plane was completely full, I had a middle seat, I couldn't see the small video screen from where I was sitting (I still can't believe they only have one tiny screen for the entire economy section of the 747 plane), and the flight attendants were NOT very friendly.

I was worried about making my connection since we were running late, but there was no reason to worry- the flight was delayed over 3 hours. So, I had time to change money, use the restroom, and get a bite to eat (there was only a small snack area, but they had noodle soup, so I was happy- although I burned my tounge beyond belief). I was so tired and irritated from the Bangkok airport issues and the crappy flight to Tokyo, that I decided to see how much it would be to upgrade to business class. Because of the fare that I had, I couldn't upgrade and purchasing a separate business class ticket was around $4000, so I resigned myself to the economy class.

When it was finally time to board, I got stopped and searched on the jetway. I only had my purse with me, so it didn't take too long even though he was extremely thorough. He actually had me take off my sandals. Sandals! He had already looked at the bottoms of them when I was sitting down, how could I hide something IN them?

It turned out that I was glad I didn't upgrade to business class, since I had the whole row to myself! Three seats in which I could stretch out and be "comfortable". I still couldn't really see the video screen, but I half-watched "The In Laws" (not a bad movie for economy class). I guess crappy flight attendants is becoming a way of life. One of the guys was really condescending toward the Asian passengers (95% of the passengers)- to me he was polite. Oh well, that was (hopefully) my last flight for a while. My next planned trip is Christmas, and I'll be driving for that one.

The pilot made good time, and we touched down at JFK around 5:00 PM. After getting my luggage fairly quickly, a nasty immigration lady, and a friendly customs guy (fortunately, the one time I had stuff in my bag that could have been questioned [work stuff that hadn't gone through the proper channels for going in and out of the country and I wouldn't have known how to answer anything about it], I got lucky and he just smiled and waved me through), I was the first person to get a taxi, and I made it home a little over an hour after my flight landed (and there was a litle traffic)- amazing! Oh, and it was nice listening to the Yankees/Sox game on the radio in the taxi on the way home (even though my Sox lost)- it reminded me that I was indeed home.

So, now I'm home and have a zillion things to catch up on. First order of business, study for social psych. I emailed the woman who was going to let me borrow her notes and told her I'd skip getting them since it seems like too much effort. I'm not going to do that well whether I have those notes or not, so I might as well use my time studying the information I do have and use the rest of my time catching up on work. The mail can wait until the weekend and studying for the theatre test can wait as well. I'm sure he won't want me to take the test during class tomorrow and after class, I have rehearsal, so he'll probably have me take it on Monday. The syllabus says that we're going to do a calling-the-show-simulation tomorrow. Everyone will have learned what to do already, so I'll be the one making a mess of things. Maybe watching a few people will help me a bit, but I'm prepared to make a fool of myself. I'll feel out of sorts at rehearsal as well, but at least I finally get to go to one.

I have a busy, travelling family right now. Yesterday as I was on my way home, Neil was on his way to Kyoto. Maxine called me last night to see if I could help with her travel arrangements from Milan to Lugano (as the office staff were being unhelpful). I gave her the number of the hotel in London where Paula and Harvey are staying, but told her to call early this morning as they were leaving for Lugano later this morning. So yes, we're all over the place right now.

I was exhausted last night (but the traffic still kept me awake for a while), but today I feel back to normal. Lack of circadian rhythm might be a problem for most of life, but for travel it's great!

Getting up early helps me realise that NYC at least can have some cool skies at sunrise even though it gets cloudy for the rest of the day after a few minutes of sunrise. I've taken a few pictures the past 2 mornings.

And speaking of pictures, I'm going to get my 6 rolls (5 from the trip, 1 from before I left) developed this afternoon before I head up to school. One of these days I'll think more seriously about the digital camera thing. Seeing the cool pictures Garrett's been taking with his and the fact that I now have a more convenient computer and a copy of photoshop (well, I'm getting a copy of photoshop in a couple weeks- I'm tired of my inferior photo editor) makes me want to get a decent one. Maybe I'll look into it early next year.

I decided to make it a Starbucks morning and did some studying there. I feel semi-confident about all the material; I just need to memorise some names and definitions and I'll be all set to do the best I can. I'm sure I won't do really well just because it's a multiple choice test and he'll probably do the "A&C", "all of the above", "all accept C" thing, but I really don't care how well I do in this class- that's why I took it.

Bob's planning on coming up on the 25th to deliver my new bookcase (which almost won his latest "Best in Show" award- it was another of his pieces that won). That made me realise that I'll have to contact my building to see how to get a certificate of insurance for him to do that. And that made me realise that deliveries can only take place on the weekdays (Bob's planning on coming up on Saturday). I wonder how I can convince the authoritarian building owners to let him deliver it on Saturday? I'll call them tomorrow and see what happens. I'm not too hopeful, but Bob can't deliver during the week, so I'm not sure what else to do. I'm also sort of worried about the sound-proofing foam he's planning on bringing up for me. First I'm worried about how to install it, and then I'm worried about how well it will work. Worried is the wrong word. I'm not really worried; I'm just impatient waiting to see the outcome.

Plans for the weekend? Catching up on everything (work, mail, cleaning...) and going to see Spalding Gray's latest performance.

Thursday was a long day. First I did poorly on the psych test. Then I think I learned that the SM class started simulations last week, so I didn't have to humiliate myself yet. Instead we toured the Kaye (something I'd already sort of done with the production class) and talked about various things. I like the way the class is structured (practical discussion, practical practice), but I don't understand how we can have written tests for this. Guess I'll find out next week- I made arrangements to take the test on Wednesday (the only day that worked for both of us). Rehearsal this past Thursday was about what I expected- pretty poor. There's a guy in the show who was in both my music and anthropology classes in the fall of 2001. He was annoying then and is just as annoying now. Even though I was exhausted when I got home, I watched the end of the Yankees/Sox game. So sad. I think there should be an anti-World Series with the Sox and Cubs. And I don't think it's just the Sox and Cubs fans who would prefer that series.

On Friday I was having cable modem issues, so I called RCN and after the guy told me a few times that he had to remind himself about my Hybrid modem because it's so old and hasn't been used for a while, he told me that my building had been upgraded and I needed to upgrade my modem. I didn't entirely believe him because maybe he just said that because he knew my modem was old and it would be an easy solution to give me and also I never received any notice. Why would they upgrade my building and not tell me that I would need to upgrade my modem for it to work? Then it started working late last night, so that made me really not believe him. But it can't hurt to upgrade, right? So the guy was supposed to come today between 11-2, but he showed up at 9:00. Good thing that for some reason I woke up earlier than planned.

Rebecca called me Thursday night to tell me she'd be in New York this weekend and wanted to know if I had time to get together. I decided to make the time- a social break sounded like a good idea. So, I met her at Ess-A-Bagel yesterday afternoon.

Jon called on Friday to tell me that he and Michelle now have another son- Ryan Scott (he said the name was too hip for someone like him). And they're moving in 3 weeks. Busy times.

I still have a lot to do. Things are getting done but at the speed of a snail. I'm just really exhausted and on and off feel like I'm fighting a cold. I think that if all you can think about is resting, than you should rest no matter how busy you are. You're probably really worn out and will work better later if you take the rest when you need it. So I'm going to spend today relaxing (although I have to go out this evening for Spalding Gray) and then tackle everything tomorrow and Tuesday when I'll (hopefully) have more energy.

I know my sleeping habits are usually bad, but once in a while they're REALLY bad, even for me. Last night I fell asleep around 2:00 AM and woke up at 4:00 AM wide awake. I decided to get up and finally have a productive day. I made it another Starbucks morning and did some studying for my theatre test there after picking up a few things (including my pictures- I'll put them up soon) at CVS. I also did some straightening this morning, but I still have a lot to do before I'll feel like I've accomplished something.

Watching Spalding Gray last night was a bit difficult. The main problems were: he didn't have his usual flair for storytelling last night, he glossed over some of the important details about Ireland, he read directly from his notes for the brief parts about returing home and about his family, he left out everything about his move on September 11th (but hopefully since it is a work-in-progress, he'll add that part back in), and the performance was only 30 minutes. One other minor annoyance: the couple in front of me from San Francisco (I heard them telling a few people that's where they lived) felt the need to nod and audibly agree with almost everything he said; especially the parts about hospitals and operations (guess they're in the medical profession).

One more thing about last night: IT WAS COLD!!! And once again, we were all in denial- the heaviest thing I saw someone wearing was a leather jacket.

ZippoTricks.com has been closed down ("For the past couple of months zippotricks.com has been under tremendous scrutiny from various US groups, organizations and even political figures concerning the potential dangers involved with tricking.") Many things are dangerous but have plenty of websites dedicated to it. How about drag racing? Or sword swallowing? Or crossing a street in Hanoi? There are too many stupid rules. And the stupider the rules git, the stupider the peoples git.

Yesterday I was pretty tired by the afternoon. Fortunately, somehow I got a second wind when I got home in the evening and managed to work for a little while. And I got a decent amount of sleep last night (I think about 6 hours), so I should be good for this long day (work, errands, studying, rehearsal).

Roundabout is finally doing a show I'd be interested in seeing (Pinter's "The Caretaker"), but I'm not so sure about the cast (Patrick Stewart: fine, Kyle MacLachlan: could live without, Aidan Gillen: don't know him but I guess they had to keep the theme of hiring TV actors). So, I think I'll skip this one.

Listening to this CD is so odd. Some of the songs I can barely remember why I put it on there and some of the songs I can remember vividly the exact time when it played a part in my life.

And now I'm getting an occular migraine (so annoying) so I'll stop here.

I finally feel human! I only slept from 2:30-8:30, but it was my choice (fell asleep when I got tired and woke up when I was awake). It would still be nice to get an 8-9 hour night, but by the time I can afford to do that, I won't need it anymore.

Rehearsal last night was a waste of time. It was a music rehearsal, so after it was getting fairly late and they were still rehearsing music, Duane told us we could leave.

Grades are posted for the social psych test- I got a B (much better than I was expecting). And I feel as prepared as I can be for the theatre test tonight.

Got a call from RCN last night about upgrading my converter box since my building was upgraded to digital cable. I listened to the message twice but didn't really understand what they meant. I called them this morning, and I still don't understand, but someone's coming here tomorrow between 11-2 to switch boxes, so I'll find out more then.

I called Scott (the super) this morning about Bob bringing the bookshelf on Saturday, and he told me absolutely no deliveries were allowed on the weekend, no exceptions. So I called Bob, and he's seeing what he can do. It's so nice that I'm working with an individual and a company rather than 2 companies. People will be flexible where companies won't. I'm sure if I asked everyone in the building if they thought short periods of 1 elevator being used for moves on the weekends would be too much of an inconvenience, 99% would say no. Sure a service elevator would have been a smart idea, but having the possibility of waiting a few minutes to enter and exit the building occasionally on a weekend so people can move stuff at times which is convenient to them isn't really a big deal.

Currently, I'm waiting for RCN to show up with the new converter box. I checked their website this morning, and learned that people with the Resilink package (which I have) get Digital Vision with the package, but it says this service isn't available in Manhattan. Maybe it's now available and they just haven't updated their website yet? You would think they would be advertising that fact.

After taking the theatre test last night (which was fine), I came home to watch the end of the Tech game. Okay, so West Virginia really crushed them, but come on Mountaineers fans, is that any reason to set 90 fires in your community? What's with this new trend?

I got a letter in the mail from Hunter that said something like, "We see you got an A in Math 100. If you are interested in being a paid tutor, please let us know." They're so desparate for tutors in that math centre. And even though I'm far from being a math genius, I bet I'd be better than 99% of the student-tutors in there. But I don't have time and have no desire to be in that depressing tutoring room ever again.

Still having bookcase issues. Hopefully I'll know more later today.

Now there are no smoking signs OUTSIDE. I saw one on my corner the other day, and that's the wide corner. If they're going to have no smoking areas outside, they should them on some of the more narrow corners. I'm surprised the government hasn't made tobacco illegal yet- I guess tobacco farmers are powerful enough to keep it legal.

Tonight I'm seeing The Violet Hour. I'm looking forward to it but not getting my hopes up.

I got a notice under my door today about there being no heat or hot water today from 9:00-4:00 and we should plan accordingly. How they expected us to "PLAN accordingly" with no time to plan is beyond me. Even though I really wanted to wash my hair today, I didn't feel like taking a cold shower and coming out to a freezing apartment, so I'll just make it a hat day.

Oh, and I feel 100% back to my usual self today. I just needed some sleep, and after 2 nights of 6 hours each, I feel great.

It's been so cold this week. Yesterday, for the first few minutes of my walk, I had a flash of Christmas spirit. Speaking of Christmas, I'm surprised I haven't seen any sign of it around the city yet.

I had a nice day with the city yesterday. Usually it feels like it's moving opposite me- the traffic lights will be timed against me, people are moving too slowly, the train doors are closing just as I get there... But then there are times, like yesterday, when I'm in the city's groove and I make every light, weave around people effortlessly, and get to the train just as it's pulling up. I love those days.

I got a 91 on the theatre test (he's so not picky and I love that).

The Violet Hour, not great. Here are a few notes:
- Mario Cantone did not act like someone living in 1919. That was especially a problem when it didn't sound different enough when he was speaking modern sentences.
- The dialogue no where near as good as "Take Me Out"'s.
- The second act was less painful.
- Jasmine Guy (I was wondering the entire time if she had rehearsed this show before) called out sick at intermission and her understudy in the second act was slightly better.
- Cool set.
- Someone had issues with the house lights as they kept going on and off and random times during the first act...
- It was often hard to hear, partly because of diction and partly because of volume (and this is a fairly small house- modern actors should all try a show in an ancient Greek theatre and then use half of what they used there when working at home).
- My seat is in the 3rd row of the mezzanine. I like that better than the first row since they have the railing in their sightlines, but I still wish I could be in the orchestra so I could see the show better.

Bob's a sweet man. Originally, he was planning on bringing his family up for a day trip when he brought my bookcase, but that was when it was on a weekend. Now he's arranged to take a day off during the week (on the 3rd) to bring it up by himself. It would have been nice for his family to have a quick trip to New York (especially after their terrible time here during the blackout), but since my building has to be difficult about it, I'm fortunate that he's willing to be flexible.

Paula and Harvey are here (yes, they were home for a whole day before leaving again and now get to be home for 4 whole days before they're back up again), so tonight we're having to dinner at Dawat before they catch the train home.

Random comment of the day: I want to learn more about obscure history. What was going on while everyone was paying attention to something else. Example: What independent movies were made during the Golden Age of Hollywood?

There was just a fairly big car accident outside my building. The emergency vehicles are pulling up now. The sound of crashing metal really bothers me- hopefully I can put it out of my mind so I don't have nightmares tonight. It's the new Bloomberg traffic patterns that are causing all these accidents on my block. I'm almost positive this one was because of the timing of the traffic lights between 3rd and Lex. Since the traffic heading east gets a short green at 3rd, only one car can make it down the block and get through Lex before the light changes to red. Now that people know this, the second and third cars fly down the street to speed through the light (and now that I know this, I always wait a few extra seconds before crossing from that side). Tonight, a few cars didn't make it through (from here, it looks like 3-4 were involved).

I watched "Portrait of Jennie" last night- interesting story, moments of enlightened wisdom, and absolutely gorgeous scenes of both New York and New England.

Yesterday I had the thought that I'm ready for Christmas. I feel kind of strange having Christmas spirit. I don't think it means the same to me as it does to other people. Or maybe Christmas spirit is unique to everyone (or at least maybe it used to be).

I didn't really want to listen to anything energetic right now, but my CD player had a mind of its own tonight (I wonder why). It's odd being mellow while listening to this live album.

I'm glad Paula reminded me about daylight savings yesterday as I haven't heard it mentioned anywhere else and I never would have remembered myself.

It's kind of balmy today. I went out to the bank and to get some breakfast this morning at 8:30 (which is like 9:30, but that's still early), and it was almost warm. I only wore 2 shirts, instead of the 2 shirts plus winter jacket that I've been wearing since I got home.

Yankees lost- 'nuff said.

I got an email from Supap (now I know her name), the woman who helped at our booth in Bangkok. She included some pictures from APEC celebrations- here's one.

Not much else to say today.

Bits of last night's dream: I was at a Borders bookstore (I think it was the one in Towson but I also think it was in a different country)- I remember trying to accomplish something and running all over the store to do that (it was a big store with 3 different cafes and several stories). I was also wandering outside near the store- there were some issues with my rental car and a few other issues as well that I don't remember now. Then I ran into some guy I didn't know at a bar and hung out there for a while talking to him and the bartender (a plain-looking woman in her 40s- didn't know her either). I think this was a hotel bar and might have been some version of the Hunt Valley Marriott (or maybe I just think that since that Marriott's been in my dreams before). I remember the dream being somewhat fun and somewhat frustrating since things weren't going as smoothly as they could have been.

I have lots of energy today- hope this keeps up for most of the next few weeks.

I was emailing Harvey about the new restaurants that have opened in my neighbourhood in the past month or so: Subway, Subway, Subway, TGI Fridays. He thought there should be another restaurant- TGISubway. I'm so sick of this chain reaction. But I'm more sick of the generic cafes and corner delis. If you don't like the products at one of them, there's no chance of going to a different one for a different selection- they all sell the same crap. It gets old going into random places all over the city and finding the same chicken burritos (I've never seen anyone order one of those), Snapples, and lemon squares. Is this the crap that the majority have proven to like? I don't get it.

Rehearsal tonight instead of SM class. In fact, there are rehearsals all week and weekend (the show opens a week from today). I'm not sure for how much we need to be there- hopefully we'll find out tonight or tomorrow.

It's finally raining after 2 days of gloom. I kind of like it right now- it feels comfortable.

Woke up singing "Paper Moon" since the cast sings it at the top of the show and it's one that really gets stuck in your head easily. We had a very slow cue-to-cue rehearsal last night. The highlight? Watching the piano almost fall of the platform as it was being moved offstage.

My social psych class really focuses a lot on advertising. It's sort of nice to have a professor that sees things like I do, but it just brings up too much irritation for me during class.

Speaking of advertising, Clear Channel is now doing LED advertising on subway entrances- I saw it on the NW corner entrance to the 6 train at 68th St. I can't help but think of what our society would be like without advertising being the cause and effect of everything. Is it possible for someone to have success without having a big advertising company running focus groups and doing product placement for them?

Yesterday as I was walking past the Bloomberg Tower, I saw the word Jesus written on the inside wall of the building construction. Then a half a block later, I saw a taxi light flash green for a second. I've never seen anything like that before, and I half-think that I imagined it. Then as I was waiting for the 6 train, on the tiny ledge of the framed 6 train route map was a can of something called "Liquid Nutrition". I've never seen anything sitting up there before. I decided it was a sign. What was liquid nutrition? My first thought was milk. Then I thought of the Korova Milk Bar and realised that you get there by taking the 6 train. And the 6 train is green, like the taxi light flash. So these were all signs. Signs to what? Jesus (since that was the first sign I saw). You could go to the Korova Milk Bar and find Jesus. I guess this is what happens to people that look for signs too often. I've never done this before, so it was kind of fun. I thought of some possibilities for horror stories based on this, but I didn't get very far since I didn't have much time to think about it.

I always seem to have to work on the day of the VT/Miami game- just realised I'll be missing it again this year. I remember one year Eytan and I watched it at Mickey Mantle's and then took a walk in Central Park on a gorgeous fall day. I think that was in '99, and I've had to work every year since.

Current advertising irritation? Commercials whose tones are just wrong for the product. An upbeat commercial for Rolaids? A dramatic commercial for pet food? Don't like it.

I'm a little nervous about handling the virtual end of things this weekend- especially for the LONG day on Saturday. Maybe it'll get easier or maybe it won't be as exhausting as I think it will be, but if it's as bad as I think it will be, so be it, and hopefully I'll be able to get enough sleep Sunday night to face the daunting week ahead.

I haven't slept past 8:00 since before I left for Bangkok, and only half of the time was because I had to be up that early (like this morning). Have I become an early bird? I'd love if this were true- especially if I could get up before 6:00 a lot (like I have several times recently). I love that hour before most of the city wakes up- it's fairly peaceful (except for all the delivery and garbage trucks).

Today I need to head over to the Four Seasons before class, but it's really just for extra help while people have lunch (I probably won't have to do much), so I can bring my psych book and hopefully read most of the time while I'm there. But of course now that I said that, it will probably be super-busy and I won't have a minute to read.

Neil, Maxine, and Abby arrive today, but I probably won't see them until tomorrow since I'll be at rehearsal until after they're asleep. But I'm tempted to leave early tonight. I don't think that should be a big problem (even though I can't be there at all on Saturday either).

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