Hey peeps - I'm trying out yet another website/blog. I'm still planning on posting more personal things here (if inspiration strikes, anyway), but I'm posting about technology, the internet, books, etc. over on renaissancedan, if you'd like to check it out! 

Hope to see you over there! 

http://renaissancedan.com

Hello from Cape Cod, MA! 

When I last posted, we were headed back to the NYCA (New York City Area, for those of you not familiar with my love of acronyms*), and we had a much better flight than the one to Orlando, which I think I forgot to mention.

Yeah, the flight to Orlando... not pretty. I forgot my headphones again (I forgot them in my checked bags on the way to the NYCA), so I was forced to listen to the most out of control child IN THE WORLD. I could have handled a baby crying. That's at least sort of consistent, but this little girl would just completely randomly shriek/yell every few minutes for the entire flight. 

Okay, it wasn't that frequent. But it was obnoxious and because it wasn't a sort of regular disruption, it kept surprising me every time it would happen, which made napping impossible, and wetting myself with shock even more likely than usual! 

Anyway, the flight back was fine. There was a little boy who pretty much constantly pushed his feet against the back of my seat, but I eventually got used to that. It was also impossible to be mad at him once we landed and I saw how adorable he looked. I like to think he just assumed it was a solid surface - which isn't really a stretch. 

Soooo... all that paragraphness to say... we arrived safely back in Newark, and made our way back to Hoboken, NJ. 

Once we arrived, we quickly rushed our belongings back into David's place and... headed to the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2! 

The theater was PACKED. The import of the movie didn't quite hit me until I heard some girls talking about it being "the end" of something that had started when they were in ... whatever school they said they were in at the time. And it made me realize that, yeah, HP had been kind of a constant for quite a while now! 

Did you know... 

The first book was released back in 1997?! 

Ninety. Seven. 

That means we could still party like it was 1999, because it wasn't yet! That means we could still look forward to the end of the world (part I) caused by Y2K! That means we didn't even yet know about the end of the world (part II) on May 21st, 2011! Nor did we know about the end of the world (part III), predicted for October 21st, 2011, which we still quake with fear over! That means we didn't know about the end of the world (part IV) happening at some undisclosed time (or maybe disclosed, I haven't seen the movie yet) in 2012! 

Most amazing of all, that means I was still in MIDDLE SCHOOL. 

This movie has been a moment we've "all" been waiting for for years! 

And it was really good! I'm not sure what was up with me but I totally didn't cry, and there were moments I totally should have... but I did really enjoy it. I've been impressed with the last few films, though I've always had to like the films as being something separate from the books - which are awesome in their own right. 

So! Anyway. Harry Potter, THE END, was lovely, bittersweet, and well done. I have a photo of my cute 3D glasses (which I did NOT recycle - sorry environment) posted somewhere on Twitter, but it apparently didn't save to my phone, so... sad times for you. 

However! I believe I wore my new(ish) Toms, which I totally forgot to show you all a picture of (even though I promised one) previously, so... here's that: 

They're adorable! I am a huge fan. They're so comfy, too! And they make me feel a little like a ballerina, which is sort of awesome in and of itself. 

SO! We saw the movie, it was swell - went back, I finished reading Looking for Alaska (which was FANTASTIC - I also got to meet John Green, who is also fantastic), and we crashed for the night. 

Then, early(ish) Friday morning, we zipped out of town! First, to Providence, RI to visit the area where David went to college. We had a quick lunch, and then resumed our travels to Wellfleet, MA, which is where I am now! 

Since this entry is getting rather long already, I'll sort of summarize our activities thus far: 

Billy and Nico (friends of David's - and now mine as well) visited for the weekend, and we all had a fantastic time at the ocean. Billy and Nico took me to Provincetown, MA, lovingly referred to as "P-Town," which was just as filled with gays as everyone had suggested it would be! It was (is?) apparently "Bear Week" in P-Town, so there were lots of furry gentlemen cruising around. 

It was fun and entertaining, and we had some fantastic cheeseburgers (with swiss!) after the bars closed (at 1, weirdly). 

Sunday night, we all enjoyed a rousing game of Boggle, which I had never played. David slaughtered us all, but it was still fun. 

Billy and Nico took off back to the NYCA on Monday morning, and the rest of the week so far has consisted of: 

Reading (I just finished Going Bovine and  The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, both of which were FANTASTIC)
Writing (I've written about 15 out of my projected 24 chapters - and LOTS of revision)
Beach Time (we've been to the bayside beach a few times, and it has been lovely, though yesterday I am convinced that fish were constantly bumping into me, which was disturbing)
Great Food (lobster rolls, great fish, great ice cream)
The Hours (which I had never seen, and really enjoyed!)
Zelda: 3DS (which largely happens when I get to a portion of my [hopefully someday] book that I'm not quite ready to work on)

It's been fantastic, relaxing, and wonderful.  

Anyway. I figured it was about time I'd updated! Hope you're all doing well, and hopefully those of you in the midwest aren't dying of heatstroke! 

More later! <3!

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! 

Yesterday was a fantastic day, but I don't really have much to report! It was a relaxy type of day, for the most part. 

In the morning, I did a little writing - and probably blogged here (I can't remember exactly when I posted, and I'm too lazy to look), and then in the afternoon, David and I went to a barbecue (which I am convinced should have a Q in its spelling!) with Tiger Beat! 

Yes, you can be jealous now. Tiger Beat is the fantastic band of authors from the NYCA, who invited us to join them for their shindig. And when I say "band," I mean the musical type - not like "flock" or "herd." David isn't a member of the band, but he's friends with many of the members, so they invited us to enjoy some great food and some great conversation. And... as you might have expected... it was great! 

After the BBQ, we headed back to David's and I spent the rest of the night writing, basically. 

Told you I didn't have much to report! Today will be sort of similar - I've spent the morning reading some fantastic writing a friend of mine did, responding to tell him that he's totally stupid for ever suggesting that it might be at all not-great, let alone bad, and now I'm back to doing some writing of my own! I've got 5 chapters written, including the first chapter, which I was having some issues with. 

This is pretty much the first time I've written fiction, and actually liked it, so I'm pretty enthused! Even better, the idea for this (hopefully) book came at almost the same time as an idea for a totally separate story that I haven't started working on yet, other than to jot down ideas. 

It's sort of surreal, really. I generally have (what I think are) some great ideas for these tiny scenes within what could be a great story, but I have pretty much no connecting material or overarching storyline. These two stories sort of hit me all at once, and they were actually stories! Not just scenes! 

I guess that's what happens when you hang out with fabulous authors. I'm sapping their powers or something. That sounds shady - let's say... they're inspiring me. :) 

Back to writing! More tomorrow! 

Well, as you know from yesterday's post, I spent most of my day reading (and finishing!) Mockingjay , by Suzanne Collins. And, as I probably mentioned, it was fantastic. I was so pleased with the whole series. It's been a long time since I've finished a trilogy in a matter of days, but these were just too good to put down. 

So, I don't have a lot to report about the remainder of yesterday as there wasn't a lot of remainder left after that... but we did go see a show. Of sorts. 

After a lengthy rush-hour bus ride into the Port Authority, I snagged an R or an N train down to David's office and wandered about for a bit while he finished a meeting. Then, he grabbed a bite to eat and we both grabbed smoothies at a little vegetarian place called 'sNice. 

After our quick stop for food and beverage, we hopped on the subway and headed toward the "theatre."

Then, in what was possibly one of the most exciting New York City experiences I've ever had, as we exited our subway train and prepared to head above ground, the train we had just exited started to move and I heard three musical notes. It didn't dawn on me immediately, but without realizing why, I immediately started softly humming the beginning of "Somewhere" from West Side Story. Then, shocked, I had a flashback to a play we saw on my last trip to New York, where one of the characters referenced a sort of legend about certain trains in the subway creating just such a sound. 

Don't believe me? Check this out: Under Broadway, the Subway Hums Bernstein

How freaking cool is that? Don't judge my description of this as "one of the most exciting New York City experiences I've ever had." I get excited over weird things, okay? Jeez. 

Anyway. So, after freaking out to David about it (he didn't hear it, he was busy taking this photo of Ninja), we made our way to our show. 

We went to see Sleep No More, and it was awesome. It's sort of hard to describe, but it's an adaptation of Macbeth set in the (I believe to be) fictitious McKitrick Hotel. Supposedly there are elements of Vertigo and/or Rear Window as well, but it was a little hard to tell. 

When you enter, you come into a lobby with a bar where all the audience members congregate, until the number on your ticket is called. 

My "ticket" for entry to the hotel. 

As you prepare to enter, you are informed that all guests must wear a mask, and are told to remain silent throughout the entire evening (except in the lobby) to guarantee anonymity of the hotel's guests (us). 

Me in my mask - an illegally obtained photo! Shh! 

Once you enter, you are released from an elevator a few people at a time on each of the 5 floors. They make an attempt to separate you from your group, which in retrospect, I would maybe recommend - just because they you can meet up in the lobby periodically and compare notes. 

The "play" occurs throughout the entire building, and you're free to roam around as you like. If you spot an actor (recognizable by the lack of mask and the fantastic costumes), you're welcome to watch and follow them to your heart's content - though they often rush off rather quickly, so you've got to be on your toes! 

The set was astounding. Every one of the five floors was flawlessly shaped into vivid and incredible scenes. A room with countless mounted animals (including a beautiful peacock - their feathers are totally soft, I checked!), a padded room with hundreds of feathers stuck in one wall, a seemingly innocuous bedroom with a mirror image room visible through a glass pane that shows blood stains on the bed... 

A bar. A candy shop. A tailor's shop. A detective agency. A small forest. A ballroom. A bedroom. A bathtub. A statue garden. A graveyard. 

The list could go on and on. Every detail attended to - a comb lying on a bedside table, files on the detective's desks, books on the shelves, a note in a coffin, candy in the candy jars, blood on the newborn baby... 

Yeah. In this fantastic techno-rave scene, the three witches act out a prophecy for Macbeth. There is a fantastically realistic looking baby, covered in blood, a rather lithe naked male witch (also covered in blood - a friend of David's was... lucky(?) enough to be struck by "bloody dick" [his words] when he got too close to the action), and two fantastically costumed female witches. There in the midst of a crazy-intense strobe light techno-musical moment, they dance out the craziest (and most awesome) prophecy you ever did see. 

I could go on and on, but we're heading to lunch soon, and I couldn't ever hope to convey the full effect. If you're ever in the area, it's well worth a visit. It will definitely be one of the more unique experiences of your life. 

For more info on Sleep No More, check out this review, this faux article on the McKitrick, and this article. 

Yesterday was fairly uneventful, all things considered. I (somewhat guiltily) spent a lot of my day at David's office finishing The Hunger Games, and then starting on Catching Fire.

Fantastic books. Really. I'm so engrossed in the second, I keep pulling it out every time I have a spare moment. Like on the subway, or sometimes while walking. Yeah, it's that bad.

It's becoming something of a cult series. While taking a brief opportunity to read as we shuffled into last night's play (which I'll discuss in a moment), a girl stopped me to ask me just how much I loved the books, and to declare her own love for them. It was delightful.

As for the play, which we went to after a lovely dinner at Zen Palate, we found it... Disappointing.

That's actually sort of an understatement.

We saw Unthinkable Acts, which details a scandal back in the 20's that happened at Harvard, during which somewhere around 10 or 11 students were expelled (or at least investigated) for being gay. I'll have to do some more research on it - there's apparently a book, too.

It sounds fascinating, and had some very real potential, but you cannot imagine my horror when during one of the final monologues, the rest of the cast burst into interpretive dance. It was absurd.

Couple that with the huge number of scenes that went on for about 5 minutes long apiece, and the fact that the play seemed to have at least two endings... AND that some of the plot seemed fairly likely to have been fairly fabricated... And we're left with what might have been a decent play, should have been an interesting play, but actually ended up being pretty terrible.

I'll have to read the book. At least the play brought the incident to light. If nothing else.

More tomorrow! We're on our way into the city now!