I flew to New York on July 11. Emily flew direct from Nashville and met me at LaGuardia. We checked into our hotel at 48th and Lexington and immediately headed for the TKTS booth in Times Square. By then it was about 3:00 and I desperately needed food, so my first meal in NYC was at the Times Square Sbarro. However, we had dinner at a nice French place later. Most of the new shows were already sold out, so we got tickets to Chicago, which neither of us had seen on the stage. Em had assured me that New Yorkers don’t dress up for the theater, and it’s true. You see everything there, style-wise. I’ve seen much fancier crowds at the Orpheum. The play was great – I liked it much better than the movie version! Some things just don’t work as movies.

After Chicago, we went back to Times Square so I could see it in its glory! It was as bright as day, and I was surprised to see that they leave the New Year’s Eve ball and 2012 sign up all year. Apparently that started a few years ago.

Thursday was THE BEST DAY. We started with a Central Park Bike Tour. They have several tours through the actual park, but I had signed us up for the City Tour, which goes downtown through the heart of the city. Our guide said it was ten miles, but it felt like a LOT more than ten miles! We saw Times Square (again), Herald Square, Madison Square, and Washington Square. And maybe Union Square? I’m not sure.

The Flatiron Building

Iconic When Harry Met Sally location

We rode onto the Brooklyn Bridge, then through Battery Park. We got a great view of the harbor and saw a sculpture that was saved from the wreckage of the World Trade Center. (We never made it to the memorial or the new tower, though.)

After returning our bikes, we were both exhausted and had lunch at the first sandwich place we (literally) stumbled upon. Then we went back to the hotel to clean up and start over for the day!

Hangin’ with Mr. Lauer

Next stop: Rockefeller Center to check in for Late Night With Jimmy Fallon! Getting tickets was one of the first things I did after booking my flight – you can find info here. The tickets are free and fairly easy to get, although a lot of it is up to chance and scheduling. We went early to get our line number and increase our chances of getting in. At 4:30, we lined up by numbers on the second floor of 30 Rock, and NBC pages led us in groups through security and put us in an elevator to the studio. Em and I were seated on the end of a short row (prime spots!). Once everyone was seated, a funny comedian/staff guy came out to warm up the crowd. Then they brought out The Roots (who played a whole mini-set) and Higgins (the announcer). Finally the show started and Jimmy was onstage!! He looks exactly the same in person as on TV – SUPER CUTE. ♥ (I’ve had a crush on him since 1998.)

Jimmy’s guests were Queen Latifah and Noah Wyle. I had forgotten that Queen and Jimmy were in a movie together a few years ago – they clearly know each other well and had a blast. Noah Wyle mostly talked about his recent arrest at a political protest, which was… interesting. The musical guest was a band I’d never heard of (Cloud Nothings).

I DVRed the show and just got around to watching it last night. At the end of the monologue Jimmy came into the audience to give someone a few rows ahead of us his cue cards, and you can see us clearly! This was the best shot I could get on pause. I took a picture of the TV. I’m a little embarrassed that due to my excitement, I was ACTUALLY FLAILING. Oh well, I can’t be the first.

I knew from the internet that Jimmy would run up and down the aisles at the end, so I was ready with my hand out, and I got to give him five!! LIFE MADE. Overall, it was a fantastic experience. Em had fun too.

After the show, re-energized, we headed down Fifth Avenue toward the Empire State Building. On the way we window-shopped, saw the library, and had sandwiches at Potbelly (Em loved Potbelly when she lived in DC and misses it greatly). The line at the building wasn’t too long, and we got to the top right after sunset. The light was perfect and the city looked so beautiful! Despite the number of people up there, it was pretty quiet and peaceful, everyone just enjoying the amazing view. I LOVED it.

It was an awesome ending to an awesome day. More to come!

6 Comments + Posted in: friends, travel, tv

For most of last week, I was in New York City with my best friend from college, Emily! There’s so much to tell about this trip, but I think I’ll start with some overall impressions.

Now that I’ve been to the city where so much history and so many books, movies, and shows are set, a lifetime of references are suddenly real to me. I’ve heard it said that going to the Holy Land makes the Bible come alive like a pop-up book. I hate to secularize that statement, but that’s exactly how I felt about New York and culture. New York has always been almost mythical to me, a celebrity of which I have no solid concept. But now I’ve wandered through its streets (extensively), watched its people, seen its shows, and eaten its bagels, and it is REAL.

Above all, New York is a place where Things Are Happening. I was constantly aware of the energy, all the activity and possibility condensed onto one small island. I think that could get tiring after a while, but in the short term, those streets did indeed make me feel brand new. I felt like a tiny part of something much bigger, and stories swirled all around me in the people and the overheard conversations. I see why New York is so good for writers – you’d never run out of material.

I’m thankful I got to have these experiences with my friend of fifteen (!) years. She was so gracious – open to pretty much anything I wanted to do, patiently steering me in the right direction again and again (without her, I would have wandered off a hundred times), willing to go those extra few blocks so I could get Pinkberry or macarons. She doesn’t live in Memphis, so it was wonderful just to spend time together and really catch up. Love the Em!

More to come!

6 Comments + Posted in: friends, travel

This early Sara Bareilles masterpiece is becoming one of my 2012 theme songs. It’s about living in a perpetual atmosphere of Things About To Happen… and then they don’t. I’ve been thinking about how much weight ambition should have in the Christian life; how much responsibility we have to “make things happen” for ourselves; and whether it’s worse to “stay surrendered” and expect God to take care of everything, or keep striving toward something that might not be what God wants for you.

It’s always just around the corner, or you’re on your way to somewhere
That is bigger or better, if you could only get there
It’s never your fault, you can’t start your own winning streak
But I’d hate to lose you to the fortune you seek.

1 Comment + Posted in: music, reflections

In 2008, before I started this blog, my dad got a mysterious tumor in his lung. It was growing fast, and cancer was a possibility, but lung surgery was the only way to get rid of or diagnose it. So that November, after months of uncertainty, he had lung surgery. The experience was pretty rough for my whole family, but thankfully, the doctor knew immediately that it wasn’t cancer. It was histoplasmosis. This disease is fairly common in the South, and for most people it’s no more severe than a cold or flu. But my dad was one of the very few who caught the lung-invading, long-term version. They removed the large tumor completely, but there was another, smaller one in his other lung. It can’t be treated with medicine, so the only way to eliminate it is to remove it.

So for four years, he’s been checked every six months to see whether the tumor is growing, and we’ve all known that it’s only a matter of time before he needs another lung surgery. Although I’m thankful that it’s not life-threatening, I’ve dreaded him going through all that again, knowing that he has this thing lurking that makes him uncomfortable and can only get worse. But this week, his pulmonologist confirmed that the tumor is shrinking, and they now think his immune system will kill it off! THIS IS HUGE and unusual for this type of tumor.

So I want to publicly thank God for His healing and grace. I have several friends who have faithfully prayed for my dad’s health, and this is a clear answer to those prayers. For years I’ve lived under a shadow, half waiting for something bad to happen, and while none of us are guaranteed anything, that shadow feels much lighter now! I’m so relieved.

3 Comments + Posted in: family, thankful

I’m suffering from sister and niece withdrawals after getting to be with them for almost a week! My mom took them back to Nashville yesterday. Here are some pics from our time together:

Hanging with “Aunt” Myla

2 Comments + Posted in: aunthood, family, summer