Summer in the City: Broadway Again and BASEBALL!

Who says it needs to be the weekend to see more of this city? It is definitely nice to not have hours of homework and studying to do once the day is done. I have taken full advantage of this "freedom" the past couple of evenings. It is something only summer can bring and what better way to celebrate this season that officially began on Sunday?!

Tuesday evening, one of my suitemates, Jessica, and I took the E train to Times Square to see another Broadway show. Avenue Q was the pick of the night and we were pum

ped! The show has been celebrated as the 2004 Best Musical at the Tony Awards. I had heard great reviews from friends who had gone to see the show in the past. While the producers caution that it may not be the best show to bring your young children to, simply because of content, it was very well done and absolutely hysterical! Jessica described it best as "a twisted Sesame Street." The show uses a combination of puppets and actors. At first I thought it would bother me to see the actors running around on stage clearly speaking while they moved the puppets' mouths. I was pleasantly surprised to see how well the actors animated their puppet's movements- it was so lifelike! I swear the same people from Sesame Street that entertained my brothers and I as kids were on stage Tuesday night- the voices were identical. Even though the characters were not the same, the similarities were obvious. It was easy to say, "Oh, that one is Bert. That one is Ernie. And that one is Cookie Monster!"

Like I said, some of the issues that are poked fun at during the show are not suitable for children, but the cast does such a great job that you can't help but enjoy their display of musical talent! Here's a little excerpt from a song called, I Wish I Could Go Back to College when the characters are displaying their disappointment in their lives soon after graduating college. There were a bunch of students like me sitting in the same seating area. This song had us all laughing so hard because of the truth in it...actually, we were just thankful we haven't LEFT college yet! :)

I wish I could go back to college.
Life was so simple back then.

What would I give to go back and live in
a dorm with a meal plan again!

I wish I could go back to college.
In college you know who you are.

You sit in the quad, and think,
"Oh my! I am totally gonna go far!"

How do I go back to college? I
don't know who I am anymore!

I wanna go back to my room and
find a message in dry-erase pen on the door!
Ohhh...

I wish I could just drop a class...
Or get into a play...

Or change my major...

I need an academic advisor to point the way!

We could be...
Sitting in the computer lab, 4 A.M.
before the final paper is due,
Cursing the world 'cause I didn't start sooner,
And seeing the rest of the class there, too!

I wish I could go back to college!
How do I go back to college?!
AHHHH...

I wish I had taken more pictures.
But if I were to go back to college,
Think what a loser I'd be-
I'd walk through the quad,
And think "Oh my..."
"These kids are so much younger than me."

Wednesday, I could hardly contain my excitement at work. When I left the office for lunch, I was irritated at the fact that it was raining yet AGAIN (I think they said something like it has rained 19 out of the last 24 days...ridiculous!) because we had tickets to the Mets vs. Cardinals game for that night!

I have missed baseball soooo much this summer. Baseball is a staple of the season for me. I am usually able to get my fill of it with 3 brothers, but this growing-up-and-leaving-home thing is really cutting into my yearly dose of the game. I was stoked (yeah, I said it) for the ride the subway out to Flushing, NY in Queens, to wear my new Mets baseball cap, and soak in the atmosphere that defines summer. Luckily the rain quit, Natalie brought a towel to wipe off our wet seats in the upper deck of left field at the brand new Citi Field (replaced Shea Stadium), and to top it all off, the Mets won! Here are several photos from the outing:

The 7 train across Queens is actually outside...not underground. Needless to say, the ride is a little more exciting with something to see!

So excited to be going to a BASEBALL GAME!

Inside the stadium...inspiring words.

And there it is...the baseball diamond. Beautiful.

View from our seats in the upper deck of left field- pretty good!

Natalie and I introduced baseball to Emily, who had never been to a game before. Then she educated us about "Rounders," the British version of baseball. They don't have to hit a ball to run the bases. (What?!) The guy sitting next to us joined the discussion and claimed that he could go pro in Rounders if he didn't have to hit the ball. So could the rest of us, dude.

Natalie finally figured out how my camera can accent certain colors at a time. Reason enough to experiment! Here I'm celebrating the Mets with a little orange accent...

And some blue accenting...Do I look like a real Mets fan? More of a Mets fan than a Yankees fan, that's for sure! (Don't worry Twins, I haven't forgotten you...just need a substitute team for the summer.)

The opposite side of the stadium. Check out the rain clouds coming in.

So naturally we check the weather radar on Natalie's phone. Not looking good...

A few innings later...clouds still looking ominous.

Emily says, "Hm, David "WRIGHT"...I wonder if he's ever WRONG." Ha! Good one, Em!

Of course we stood up to stretch and join in the chorus of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"

Nick Evans hit his first Home Run! Natalie was disappointed we couldn't see the huge apple that comes up, spins around, lights up- the whole works.

The guy sitting next to Emily reminded me so much of Reece. It would have been too obvious to take a full picture (because I'm not a creep!), but I did manage to get his feet...Reece always wore black socks and red/white Nike shoes!

"I tell our kids that we’re going to go out and play hard, and we want to win as much as anybody. But when the game is over, we’re going to line up, shake hands, and be gentlemen, knowing that we did the very best we could."
- Ed Thomas

As kids, Mom and Dad would make it a point to hit up a Major League game on vacation in the summer if there was a stadium nearby our campground...Citi Field- check!