ATC in NYC

I’ve decided that I don’t post nearly enough blogs under the heading “Outings.” Which might lead you to believe that there is really nothing fun or glamorous to do in New York City. If you do believe this, you are indeed wrong.

This weekend boasted outing upon outing, adventure upon adventure, one insanely awesome foray into the depths of Manhattan after another. If I seem to be oozing hyperbole, you are indeed right.

But it was nonetheless a very fun weekend because my high school pals Arden Elise and Christine came to visit me in the Big Apple! I would say that they got to live life on the town a little more than me (FAO Schwartz anyone? I hear it gets pretty crunk there…) but their visit was capped by a group outing to the Tony Awards.

For those of you that do not know, the Tony Awards are the Super Bowl of Broadway theatre, the World Cup of showtunes as host Sean Hayes (or rather the Tony Awards staff writers) put it. Which doesn’t mean that it gets a lot of viewers. It means that people in the industry get really worked up over it and spend a lot of time predicting who will win and what that will mean for various careers.

I was mostly worried about what to wear. Because I got the tickets for free via work, I did not want to disappoint anyone with my less-than-black-tie attire. So I bought a tuxedo-ish jacket and vest just for the occasion. Which I plan to return tomorrow. Do not judge me.

Really, the whole night was an absolute blast. Getting to go to the celebration of a year’s worth of work in this industry before I’ve even celebrated the one-year anniversary of my employment (that would be tomorrow, actually) was a privilege and an honor. Plus, this show won Best Musical. Which made me truly ecstatic.

The best part of the event was getting to experience it with two such close friends. I always knew when I graduated high school that I would never find friends quite like the ones I made there. And while I am very lucky to have a stable of rockin’ compadres in tow currently, I still fall right back in to place with my fellow Cougars.

Please consider this is a blanket invitation for any of my high school friends to come visit me immediately.