The Big Apple: ALMOST MBT

Image credit: greenwichmeantime.com

The countdown is almost over!  Tomorrow night I fly to NYC and I'm SUPER excited.

I'm only planning two really "big" activities.  One, which I'm still waiting for confirmation on, is seeing the Broadway production of Phantom of the Opera.  Boyfriend's best buddy just recently began playing the role of Monsieur Andre (funny story actually) and I'm looking forward to seeing him.

The other was JUST THIS MINUTE confirmed, and, as I'm currently keeping it as a surprise for my friends who might join me, I will only offer the following three clues:

• My girl crush
• Not U2
• Partially mentioned in a previous IMBT Birthday Shoutout (you'll have to figure out which one!)

Other than that, I just plan on lots of catching up with friends and enjoying Manhattan in the fall.  Speaking of which, I've been tracking the weather really closely because I really really REALLY don't want it to rain.  Having lived in LA for almost 7 years I just don't own appropriate clothing for any weather besides "nice".  I went a little nuts this week and impulse-purchased waterproof, cozy boots (see below) online and had them shipped to my friend's place in NY.  I also went on a shopping spree at Old Navy but will only bring about 5 of the items (out of, like, 15) with me - I just can't resist sparkly tank tops!  *Sigh*  At least I'll have these:

image credit: shoes.com

Cute, right?

I do have a couple questions for my fellow frequent travelers and NY natives:

1. Does Virgin America provide pillows on their red-eyes?  Continental does not and I have learned to bring one with me.  But I'd rather not if I don't have to...

2. I'm planning on inviting friends to join me for drinks on Friday evening and, as is always the case, I have no idea where.  Any thoughts about a fun, relaxed, not-too-expensive, centrally located bar in Manhattan (I've been looking mainly at lower Manhattan as that's where I'll be staying that night)?  Any and all suggestions are welcome.  I've been using this website and Yelp to check some out and am thinking about GoldBar (I mean, if for nothing else just to confirm it's a real place), Ward III, Whiskey Tavern (I love the quote on the front page: "I love this place." - Anonymous), or AnotherRoom.  If any of you have ever been let me know in the comments!

And now if you'll excuse me, it's time for me to go make a packing list!

Penguins in LA: This Past Weekend's BT

I'm not a huge sports person - I go to maybe 2-3 games/events a year.  It's the price of the ticket and physically getting there (specifically, fighting LA traffic from the west side to downtown or to Dodger stadium) that usually lessen the appeal.  When I do go though, I usually end up having a fun time, which was definitely the case on Saturday night.

Boyfriend's team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, were in town on Saturday to play the Los Angeles Kings.  (The sport in question is hockey for those of you not familiar.)  Because these two teams don't play each other that often and the game was on a Saturday night, Boyfriend was super excited.  We left the west side with almost 3 hours to spare so that we could find parking (we got a street spot!), eat dinner, and make our way to the Staples Center without feeling too stressed for time.  This all worked out really well.

"Welcome to the MAIN EVENT!"

Boyfriend bought our tickets on StubHub - they were $65 plus fees, but he claimed they were "decent".  In reality they were almost on the ceiling.  I got altitude sickness climbing to get to them!  Juuuust kidding, but they were 4 rows from the very top.  At least we were surrounded by other Pens fans - very very spirited Pens fans, but Pens fans nonetheless.

decked out in our Penguins fan gear

Meanwhile, one of our coworkers who has season tickets was down in his seats with his wife, their son, and their son's friend.  He texted Boyfriend to let him know that there were a couple open seats next to them that we might be able to come sit in, but to wait until the end of the period just in case.  A couple minutes later the Penguins scored the first point of the game, at which point our coworker told us he "lost" his ticket stubs he was going to use to get us into his section.  ;-)

When we did go join them we were pretty amazed by how great their seats were.  Though there were definitely not as many Pens fans in their section.  When the Kings tied it up in the second period the other season ticket holders gave us a bit of a hard time, but it was all in good fun.  As a native of Cleveland you might be wondering how I could root for a team from Pittsburgh.  The way I see it, Cleveland doesn't have an NHL team so I get a pass.  Plus, penguins in general are really cute.

The third period turned into quite the nail-biter when the Kings scored for a second time, taking the lead.  Having watched last year's HBO sports doc series "Road to the Winter Classic" which followed the Penguins, I was familiar with a small handful of the players and was excited to see my favorite, No. 9 Pascal Dupuis, on the ice quite a bit.  With 2:57 left in the third (and final) period the Penguins scored once more, tying it back up.  Despite much effort on both sides and a lot of really intense back-and-forth across the ice, neither team was able to score again in the remainder of the 3rd period nor in the 5 minute sudden death overtime and the game went into a SHOOTOUT!

Adding "ride a Zamboni" to the Bucket List

I had said to Boyfriend earlier in the evening that I really hoped we'd see a shootout so I was super excited.  The entire audience was on its feet and cheering.  It took 4 rounds but the Penguins' Chris Kunitz finally scored the game-winning goal.  Hooray!  GO PENS!!

What a great game - I'm definitely glad we went.  And a HUUUUGE Thank You to our coworker and to the people who sit next to him who didn't show.  Sitting with him and his wife was really fun and waaay cooler than sitting in the nosebleeds.  If only it always worked out this well - I would go to games a lot more often!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!! It's EVERYONE'S Best Thing! (11/04 edition)

We are full swing into the second-to-last month of the year.  How crazy is that?  This week we're casting the next short I'm producing (currently titled TOMATO CAN), then one week from today I'll be waking up in sunny wet and cold NYC (truth).  Before we know it it'll be Thanksgiving - my favourite holiday EVER (post coming soon), then it'll be time to shoot TOMATO CAN, and then it'll be holiday party season woot woot!

But until then, here are some links and vids to keep us all entertained...

First, may I present the best Microsoft Paint music video I've ever seen (warning, lyrics NSFW):

Thank you to The Hairpin for sharing.

Second, my female roomie, Queen of Finding Amazing Tumblrs, sent me this hilarious one yesterday: http://louisvsrick.tumblr.com/.  This is exactly how my cat would behave if he knew how to IM.  It's double rainbow amazeballs because it reminds me of Amy Poehler's hysterical "Kaitlin" character from SNL who used to drive her Uncle Rick crazy.  Unfortunately I can't embed a video from Hulu, but you can watch one of the sketches HERE.

Third, a friend shared this, one of the greatest inventions I've ever seen, on FB this morning:

It's called Baggy Winecoat.  Here are more details on how to use it:

It looks like a purse... BUT IT'S FILLED WITH WINE!!!  Must. Have. Right. Now.

Fourth, Jimmy Kimmel is hilarious:

And lastly, The Animal Rescue Site has posted this super adorable video earlier this week.  I've re-posted below, but be sure to go to their site and click so they get the credit!

Don't forget kids, Daylight Savings ends this weekend so be sure to change your clocks.  Spring forward Fall back - we gain an hour, hooray!

Happy Friday y'all!

"New Girl": IMBT

How hilarious was last night's episode of "New Girl"?

I didn't even realize how much I missed it until we turned it on.  I realize it has haters (doesn't everything though?) and that a lot of people find it annoying, but I really don't.  I think it's delightful and adorable.

Two reasons I find it so endearing: A) The way Jess likes to sing everything reminds me so much of one of my male roommates who likes to sing everything all the time and B) It makes my female roommate crack up, and her laugh is totally contagious so I always crack up as well.  I don't mean just a chuckle or light laugh, I mean wiping-away-tears-and-having-to-rewind-so-you-don't-miss-the-next-joke laughing so hard.  I think the way they push jokes to their perfect limit - prime example: Nick getting Jess to properly say "penis" - really helps.

Highlights from last night's ep include:

• Jess' suggestion to watch FAME or AN AMERICAN TALE ("It's about a little Jewish mouse, with a big heart...") instead of the scary movie the boys put on.
• Jess' description of Nick's belly as "The little pooch where you keep your extra cookies."
• Lake Bell as the mystifying Amanda and Nick's out-loud exclamation of shock that she went for him.
• The aforementioned penis pronunciation scene.
• Schmidt's latest idiosyncratic need to see Nick's penis so as not to be the only one who hasn't.

I'm hoping the news of the show's dip in ratings doesn't really mean anything.  Fox doesn't think so, though they kind of have to say that.  But I have a feeling, in this case, they're right.  Unfortunately I don't have a clip from last night to share, but here's the pilot promo for any of you who haven't seen it and would like a a taste (you can catch up on Hulu as well):

PS.  Totally am going to start a Slow Chicken Dance at the next wedding I attend.  Who's with me?

Hot Men with Accents: My [And HelloGiggles'] Best Thing

Apparently it's Guys we Love Week here at IMBT.

I can't take credit for writing this masterpiece, but I can say that I AGREE.  Well, I agree with almost all of it - I do still remember Nicholas Hoult as the kid from ABOUT A BOY so I don't know if I personally would have included him in this list, but he certainly has grown into a handsome young lad.  Instead I would probably have included Matthew Lewis.  (Although he too started off as a somewhat awkward, chubbier, little boy so I don't know how subbing him in makes it any better.)  Aside from the obvies (Firth, Neeson, McAvoy, Owen, etc.) I might also have included Dylan Moran of "Black Books" (love and miss that show - another post for another time), his sometimes-twin Matthew Macfadyen of PRIDE & PREJUDICE, and Matthew Goode of A SINGLE MAN.  Yum yum yum.

Maybe I'll follow up with 7 Aussie Actors Who Will Make You Swoon...

Until then...

Happy Tuesday!