New York, New York

Well, I managed to arrive in NYC despite the blizzard that was just beginning when my plane landed. I woke Sunday morning to streets and sidewalks covered in snow. At first I thought that would put a damper on my plans to walk through the city, but it didn't. I bundled up and ventured out, walking from East 51st all the way down to Soho....without falling on my doopah!

Being in NY means that I was engaged in my two favorite NYC pastimes...shopping and theater. The shopping was effective; I think I now have enough clothes for chilly Cairo for the next few years. I managed to keep my yarn purchase to just two skeins for a hat I saw on knitty.com in their winter issue. I ran on a treadmill and was given recommendations for new running shoes, which I'll be testing on the roads and trails later this week.

Theater was a great experience. The tickets booth employees are very helpful; they have workers who stroll the line and answer questions about the shows. The most recommended one was "Next to Normal". What an interesting show...a bipolar mother has hallucinations that her dead baby lived (he's now about 18), her husband stands by her, her overachieving daughter is going nuts herself (and makes her stoner boyfriend seem more normal as the musical progresses) and the songs are all very rock-based, with multiple characters singing different lyrics at the same time (thus making it a bit hard to understand). But an enjoyable show. Tonight I saw "Ragtime", which follows the stories of three different families at the turn of the century. Great music and dancing, and a very diverse cast (for a change, seeing as most of Broadway is still lily white).

Tomorrow morning I catch the bus upstate to Elmira. Looks like a white Christmas might be in the forecast. Once I'm there, I'll post some pictures...NYC in the snow is very pretty!