On Saturday I took a short jaunt up to New York City to take in my first show on Broadway. I’ve seen your classic Lion King, Beauty and the Beast and Wicked on National Tours, but I’d never been to an actual New York Broadway show.

The honor of my first New York show went to the new musical Catch Me If You Can. It’s the same story from the 2002 film staring Leonardo DiCaprio as Frank Abignale Jr. — a young conman who steals more than 2 million dollars as he impersonates a doctor, lawyer and pilot while gallivanting around the world.

The story transfers seamlessly to the stage with toe tapping musical numbers that leave you snapping your fingers for days after the curtain closes. And the talent of the cast is truly awe-inspiring as they show the audience the magic of “turning butter into cream” and how to embrace life even with reality hot on your trail!

I’ve always loved this story because of its themes. I know Abignale is a crock, but his spirit is not ill intentioned. He’s just a kid trying to become something by faking it ‘till he makes it, even if that means staying a few steps ahead of reality. I’m a big believer is faking it ‘till you make it because that little mental trick can give you the confidence to cross that final barrier and before you know it, you are what you always wanted to be.

Now that I’ve seen the movie and the musical, I’ve just downloaded the novel to my Kindle and I can’t wait to experience the story in that medium.

It was great fun to file into the Neil Simon Theater on a rainy New York afternoon. I was amazed at how ornate and small the theater was, but it was great! I love to just walk around New York, so after the show there were stops at 30 Rock and Times Square and then it was back to D.C.

Here’s a little preview video of the show so you can get a taste of it.

As many of you know, I began interning with NBC News this week, and my second day with NBC just happened to coincide with a massive snow storm in the DC region.

On a normal day, my commute takes about an hour and fifteen minutes each way.  It’s not a small amount of time by any means, but it is manageable.  Today, with the snow, my commute took over four hours.

I started by walking through a blizzard from NBC to the metro station.  The trains were actually running fairly on schedule and were not very full.  I guess most people were smart and left work early when they saw the snow.  The problem began when my train was about 100 feet outside the station where I transfer from train to shuttle bus.

The train sat on the track for about twenty minutes.  Then once it pulled into the station, I find no buses, no shuttles and no taxis, but there was a nice large group of people waiting for some way to get to where they belong. Continue reading →

Before really buckling down to study for my final exams I headed into D.C. yesterday for a holiday tour of the capitol’s Christmas highlights.  The stops included the U.S. Capitol Building, the U.S. Botanic Gardens, the White House and Georgetown.

The Capitol Building Christmas tree has a Wyoming theme this year, and the tree and all of the ornaments are from the state.  Then not far from the tree is the Botanic Gardens that boost a holiday display of D.C. landmarks recreated out of natural materials, giant poinsettias and model trains. Continue reading →

It has been twelve weeks since the last time I’ve been home and that is officially the longest I’ve ever been away.

I am beyond excited to fly home on Saturday and spend time with everyone in Vancouver, sleep in my own bed, drive my car, read the newspaper, watch local news, use a DVR, get my updated license, and all of the other wonderful things about home!

When I left for school in August, I had been so busy working for the prosecutor’s office and interning with The Columbian that it felt like I just hopped on a plane without even thinking about it.  August feels like such a long time ago.  It will be great to be back for a few days.



After a short hiatus so I could drown myself in homework, the last few posts about New York City are coming:

Rockefeller Center is as familiar to me as watching the Today show every morning, so to actually set foot there was shocking – because it looks so much bigger on TV!

The skate rink was already set up when I visited and I was stunned at how dinky it looked.  I couldn’t stop thinking about watching “Christmas at Rockefeller Center” and thinking how large it looks.  It’s not.  The rink in the mall is bigger.

Needless to say, it was a thrill to stand outside the Today show studio and peer in.  If only Matt and Meredith had been behind the anchor desk, but it was still cool.  I think I understand now that people aren’t kidding when they say the camera adds ten pounds, because I think it makes everything look bigger.  The Today show set looked small too, but no less cool.

Continue reading →

The lunch options in New York City are almost as varied as the people who walk the streets – there’s Olive Gardens, TGI Fridays, Subways and Burger Kings – but I wanted a real New York dining experience.

So passing dozens of chain restaurants, I searched for a deli or a pizza place that looked clean enough and nice enough to eat in.  It took a little searching, but eventually I stumbled upon the Stage Deli, somewhere between the Ed Sullivan Theater and Rockefeller Center.

The place was packed.  Walking in the door, I was immediately greeted by a wall of pictures, featuring all of the famous people who’d eaten there, including a newspaper write-up featuring Mayor Bloomberg enjoying a sandwich from the deli.  It seemed like a safe bet, so when the guy with a thick New York accent asked if I wanted a table, I agreed.

The instant I squeezed into the tiny table that was packed among dozen of others, I knew this wasn’t like the restaurants I normally frequent. Continue reading →

The crossroads of the world might be best known for their big New Years Eve party, but they’re certainly not lacking on a random Saturday.

More than anyplace I visited in NYC, Times Square left me stunned. The sheer amount of things to look at was insane! One second I was looking at the Good Morning America studio, then another giant screen would divert my attention, only to be quickly distracted by every other type of billboard for everything and anything you can imagine.

Times Square was almost scary because of the amount of people and stuff all around. I couldn’t decide if I was energized or claustrophobic. Continue reading →

I always thought I would take the train from Washington DC to New York.  But after talking to a few people on campus who have made the trip, they recommended the bus.  To that I pictured a 1950s Gray Hound with thick black exhaust and nasty blue vinyl seat upholstery.

Luckily after some research I found that the buses are actually pretty nice double-decker contraptions – even modern enough to offer free Wi-Fi.  So for a very reasonable $33 round-trip ticket, I boarded the Megabus in downtown DC at 6 a.m. and headed for Manhattan.

To get to the NYC bus stop, we traveled through several tunnels.  That had the effect of blindfolding me, spinning me around ten times, and asking me to pin the tail on a donkey.  So when the bus pulled to a curb and everyone started getting off, it took a minute to know where to start walking. Continue reading →

Whose life is this?  I don’t mean in a stuck-up way, but I find it pretty cool that I get to do things like report from the White House and gallivant off to New York City for the day.  Even smaller things, like a delicious yam, mango and pineapple casserole in the dining hall, have me asking that question.  I think I lead a pretty exciting life and I’m grateful for that – especially today on my 21st birthday!

And on this day, it’s all about New York City.

The thing about NYC is that everyone has preexisting impressions of it before ever ducking through the Lincoln Tunnel and mingling between the buildings.  I certainly had impressions that NYC would be completely put together – like a well run movie set.

When I got there, I did feel like I was in some movie-set-like-dream-world, but nothing about it was put together.  I have never seen so much chaos and hubbub in my entire life, and it’s not necessarily gleaming and beautiful, but it is completely captivating and fascinating and inspiring to the point I couldn’t speak and could barely blink.

Continue reading →