President's Day Broadway Weekend

We celebrated George Washington's birthday in New York City. We took this time to do what we haven't done together in a long time - spend a weekend in Manhattan and see as many Broadway shows as we can.

We booked ourselves right in Times Square and lined up two shows to watch - The Lion King and Legally Blonde the Musical. I had seen the last on its opening week with friends, Lito and Sheila, and I had such a great time that I wanted Hubby to see it and enjoy it with him. And enjoy it, we did!

The Lion King was something we couldn't get tickets to in its first couple of years of showing so we gave up. These days, even if it still doesn't appear on the TKTS show list, it's easier to get tickets as long as you book them a few weeks in advance. Its artistry is really something to see. I've heard it talked about and to finally see it is really quite an experience.

For Wicked, we were hoping to do the lottery since we could never get tickets online for the President's Day weekend, but alas, we didn't get there on time to list our names during the matinee we were free. So, we took a chance and went to Golden Theatre to check out Avenue Q and were fortunate enough to snag a couple of tickets. Hubby loves South Park, and since the brand of humor is quite the same, you can imagine how much he (and I) laughed in this show!

Next on our list was the limited engagement of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof with Terrence Howard, James Earl Jones, Phylicia Rashad and Anika Noni Rose. However, we found out that our TheatreMania discount doesn't apply for the holiday weekend. Paying full price after already seeing three shows wasn't that appealing so we bagged the idea and just treated ourselves to a nice dinner at the original Benihana in New York.

I'm just hoping that the show's still running when we go back in May to meet up with some friends!

Too Many Hats

For about three and a half months now, I've worn three hats at work. In December, I was doing that, plus a musical. By Christmas, I was so burnt out that I spent the whole Christmas week sick - physically and figuratively. I was sick with a bad cold, as well as sick of thinking, talking and socializing that I went through the holiday season barely talking to anyone to wish them good cheer. I reserved that energy for the few family and friends who lived in close proximity and that I would see during the season. All I could manage for the rest were emails. Writing one was less exhausting than a face-to-face or vocal (over-the-phone) encounter where I would have to exhibit facial expression and vocal inflection to go along with my words. I was tired. I still am.

I thought that staying at home rejuvenating during the weekends would help lift my spirits. I was wrong. Three weekends ago, Hubby and I went to the White Mountains to do some long-overdue skiing. After a couple of tentative runs and we were back in skiing, and falling, form! We managed to get some outlet shopping done, as well, before and after. The weekend was tiring physically, but it really resurrected my spirits. Next weekend, we are planning a trip to New York to watch a few Broadway shows and visit with family. It's given us something to look forward to these very hectic days.

I thought resting and vegging was the only antidote to very stressful workdays, but having fun, even if it's physically tiring, seemed to have done more for me. I guess the key to keeping sanity when you're working very hard, is to "play" equally hard. It did wonders for my spirit, definitely.