Making up for lost time!

I have been so busy with....well, EVERYTHING that I haven't updated this like I should. So. This will be an update on all things New York City and Graduation so that I can get caught up to the rest of the summer....

New York City- I reported to the Noel Fine Arts Center a little before 5 AM in order to take a shuttle with the rest of my class to the airport. The first plane ride was fairly painless. After an already long layover, our second flight left an hour late. I began to feel a little sick during this flight. but I thought it was just allergies. When we landed, it felt like my ears would not pop and my own voice sounded like I was in a tunnel. We stood in line for over another hour for taxis. And then we finally made it to our hotel, which was just off of Times Square. I had a relaxing evening of Italian food (where I saw a few mini- celebs from the Late Night Show with David Letterman), tea, cold medicine, and a bath...because (surprise, surprise) I was sick.

The next day we left for Pearl Studios which is a building where they have a lot of professional auditions. While we were there, there were other schools doing showcases as well as professional auditions for Beauty And The Beast, Catch Me If You Can, and commercials. We warmed up, got pretty, and then had our first round of showcase. My scene with my classmate Zach was from Gruesome Playground Injuries by Rajiv Joseph. My first solo was "I Did It On Rollerskates" which was cut from Funny Girl. My second solo was "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" by Pat Benatar. Everything went alright. I am glad I took the time the night before to take care of myself, because I only felt a little under the weather and everyone said that I didn't sound sick. So that is good. I then had a small lunch with an old friend of mine from my Casper College days who had moved to NY a few months ago. Katie Rhodes and I talked New York, the past, the present, the future...it was fun to see someone from way back then! We returned to do another round of showcase and then we were dismissed for the evening.

I went down to the TKTS booth in Times Square to see if I could see a show. I ended up getting a ticket to see War Horse. It was a bit of a walk from the booth to the theatre War Horse was playing. I had a lovely walk, though, and ended up eating at this lovely little bistro type restraunt. My waitress was from Moldova and knew very little about NYC. I had the best panini of my life and a cup of coffee for $12 (including tip!). I made it to War Horse and....it was just so beautiful. I am glad I saw it. The puppetry was amazing as was the acting. I cried the entire second act. Superbly written, as well. I then went back to the hotel and went to sleep.

Thursday was much of the same. Two rounds of showcase with a lunch break in between. Then after we were done, I went and had drinks with Tyler and some of my classmates at The Pod hotel and then we made our way to the irish pub where we had a Pointer reunion. It was fun to see some of the old graduates and see how they are doing and such. After leaving, Grace and Kelsey and I had some froyo and then went to bed. Friday was spent with Brynn and Lauren. We had breakfast in Central Park, then we explored Times Square. We had BBQ for lunch and then headed back to the hotel to catch our shuttle back to the airport. Then our class flew back to Wisconsin and arrived in Point around 9 pm.

My Dad and my little brother, Caleb, just got into town for my graduation as I got into town from NY. I saw and talked to them for a little bit, then hung out with my friends Emily and Michelle for a little bit before going to see my boyfriend, Ben, at Pete's Sportsbar where he dj's karaoke on Fridays. Stayed there for awhile before getting tired and hitting the hay.

Saturday was spent doing all sorts of crazy things. I had brunch with all my guys (Dad, brother, boyfriend) and then graduated. We had some yummy mexican food at the restraunt I ate at when I first moved to Point my first year. Full circle. Then we packed up the car with some of my stuff that I was sending back to Colorado. Then it was naptime, then we had ice cream at BELTS!!! Then I went to a little graduation party and said goodbye to some awesome friends. And spent some final quality time with the boyfriend before I had to leave the next day.

Sunday, I left Stevens Point. I will be back for visits (especially since Ben lives there), but I am mostly gone for good. The next 12 hours were spent driving with Dad following in the red car and Caleb and I driving in my car to Nebraska. We had a short stop in Ames, Iowa to visit my new nephew, David Michael Steffen. He was only a little over a week old and already a total cutie. He is my sister's first baby and I am so happy for her. She is already a fantastic mother. The last 10 miles to Brownville, Caleb and I witnessed an eclipse! First one I've ever seen, I think. It was pretty. And then, immediately upon arrival, I was sent to music rehearsal for The Apple Tree. So I said goodbye to my brother and father and hello to my summer in Nebraska. More on Brownville to come...