Two Hours in Line ... For Nothing

Last weekend I had yet another quintessential New York experience: Waiting in line.

I've really wanted to see Scarlett Johansson in the Broadway production of "A View from the Bridge." I'd planned to get discounted tickets for about $35, but they were sold out by the time I tried to order them. So my options were:

1) Not seeing the show.
2) $60 tickets.
3) Standing in line for 2 hours for a chance at $25 tickets.

Fool that I am, on Sunday I chose option #3.

The box office sells rush and standing-room-only tickets the day of the show, but you have to stand in line long before it opens to even have a shot. I got in line Sunday at 10 a.m. -- a full two hours before the box office opened -- and even still I was about the 30th person in line. In 35 degree weather.

The tickets sold out four people in front of me. My freezing feet like anvils, I unhappily dragged myself to meet Paul at a museum about a mile away (my Valentine's Day present to him was standing in line for the tickets by myself).

But the day wasn't a total bust. With our extra time not spent in a theater, we instead tried Pinkberry for the first time (not quite sure what all the fuss is about) and made my first spontaneous purchase in about 7 years-- Rock Band 2. Could've been a worse day!

Arts and Sports

On Thursday I unexpectedly saw my first play since moving here.

I had exchanged a couple of e-mails with a friend of a former co-worker (that's you, Sam!), and we were arranging a day and time to meet. Then she e-mails me Thursday afternoon and writes that her husband got two free tickets to a show and he can't make it. Would I like to come? Of course!

"The Overwhelming" is an off-Broadway play about an American family who moves to Rwanda in 1994. I really enjoyed it (now I have to see "Hotel Rwanda"), and the seats couldn't have been better-- third row, dead center. Even better, though, is knowing someone in New York besides my husband!

Friday and tonight we have Paul's former co-worker/friend staying with us. He suggested getting some cheap pre-season NBA tickets for last night, so we spent much of the evening watching the Knicks play the Nets. I was eager to go-- not to watch the game, but just to see Madison Square Garden.

As the photo illustrates, our seats were pretty high (we were about a half-dozen rows from the top), but the view wasn't bad. It was actually easier to see what was going on by watching the court rather than the giant TV screens.

We left during the fourth quarter and ate dinner at ESPN Zone in Times Square. Not normally my type of thing, but it was a good experience. My burger was tasty, but it reminded me of all the yummy burgers Paul won't be able to grill now. :-(

It rained most of the night, and this was the first time I'd had to lug an umbrella for more than a few blocks. It made me long for the warmth and shelter of a car and garage.