The week before Thanksgiving it was my turn to plan date night for the week. I decided sleeping outside in thirty degree weather on a cold slab of concrete in the middle of Rockefeller Center alongside a fully operating street in New York City sounded perfect.
Camping out for SNL is easily one of my top ten favorite "only in New York" experiences that I had been wanting to share with Tom all year. So we did it! And we did it in style. Learning from past cold winter nights (this was my fourth time) and knowing Tom was a little skiddish about the idea of sleeping on the street (he's no fool!), we decided a blow up mattress and sleeping bags would be the best way to go. We brought a Queen size air mattress, zipped two sleeping bags together, and called it bed. Our "campsite" also included a folding chair, reading material, snacks, trash bag, and electronic devices to keep us entertained when we weren't snuggling or sleeping. We lined up around 8pm and slept for most of the night in between visiting with people in line or making a couple runs to McDonald's for a bathroom / hot chocolate break. Now the catch to all this time under the skyscrapers is that the tickets are stand-by and there's no guarantee that we, or anyone in line, will get in the following night. Everyone gets a ticket, even if they show up at 6:55 a.m. thinking all 200 people in line are sure to get in. Miracles happen I guess... Getting in depends on those who applied for and received real tickets for the season and then don't show up (thank you!), thus leaving a spot for people on stand-by to take the seats available in numerical first-in-line, first-in-the-studio order. Yes it could all be for nothing in the end. Still, the people I've met and the experiences I've had make it totally worth it even if I don't get in. Which has, very luckily, still not happened to me!
Somehow, my streak of luck continues and we got in (with numbers 22 and 23) to the rehearsal show (my personal favorite). Anne Hathaway was hosting (she is so lovely and talented!) and Florence and the Machine were the musical guest. We re-enacted this little episode when Florence performed Dog Days. I mean how could you not?! Precious. It was definitely a date night to remember.
*****
Another highlight to wrap up a good year was seeing the Goo Goo Dolls in concert! I'm pretty sure my cousin and I were the oldest people there... aside from the band itself which started out in 1986; I was two then. My mid-twenties crisis officially set in at this show. The Goo Goo Dolls front man John Rzeznik has certainly had some tweaks and pulls done, but luckily their music is still fresh and wonderful and it was awesome to sing along to so many "classics" that had been on a repeat soundtrack to my life and many of my road trips, and often still are.
I love that when they started playing Black Balloon, people from the crowd had come prepared with black balloons that floated and bounced around the room. The didn't play this favorite (back when music videos were shot outdoors, barefoot, uphill, in the cold), but they did play this one (a version from their early days at Woodstock '98--see, old).
*****
Last but certainly not least, Tom and I were the lucky guests of one of the NY Rangers photographers, who took us to see the Rangers vs. Flames game. Tom, being from Calgary, is an AVID Flames fan so he began counting down for this game as soon as it had been posted. It was like his birthday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas came early! We had already planned on getting tickets, and then our friends Andrew (Rangers photographer) and Sara asked if we'd like to join them as guests that night. I'm surprised Tom didn't fall over after all his jumping and clapping. It was an intense game, especially since I was cheering for the Rangers and Tom for the Flames, and of course we had a bet against each other. Turns out Rangers won. I was sympathetic for the duration of time it took the exit the stadium and then I might have basked in the glory of my win as well. Good night, good friends, good way to close out the year!
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