Ohio, or such things as encourage Nick to fall asleep on the floor multiple times
I was in Cleveland, visiting CB, last weekend from Saturday to Monday evening. It was a good weekend, albeit an expensive weekend, and not one to be repeated on my wallet for a good deal of time yet. But definitely worth it.
Friday, after Directing Class, Matt and Adie picked me up from my house and dropped me off at the airport. Got on the plane to Vegas, dropped $30 in the slots in the terminal, and got on my plane to Cleveland. Arrived in Cleveland on Saturday at 6:30 am East Coast time (that's 3:30 am West Coast time, my normal going-to-bed-hour). CB picked me up, we drove back to Painesville, and dropped my stuff off at her place and met her roommates.
Saturday Evening, went out to see Autumn Rush, which is an excellent film. I noted striking similarities to Oliver Twist, but since CB hasn't read or seen it, I was alone in my observations. Robin Williams was good, though I wanted just a smidge more of him. Good movie, a bit contrived, but good nonetheless.
Got ice cream at Baskin Robbins and went back to her house.
Now might be a good time to note that due to nuclear pollution in the local tap water system, she started growing extra limbs and is "not supposed to be on her feet or engaging in strenuous activity. Rather, she should be on home rest." So she can't ride until the extra bits are amputated, but she can groom much more efficiently now.
Got up at like 6 am to drive to the barn and prep for a huge dressage horse show Sunday. She's organized these before, and was even going to ride in this one, but what with her legs and doc's orders, she was stuck in a chair giving orders to the rest of the dressage team and staff. I, meanwhile, was up above the lobby watching the show in the arena below and playing computer games on her laptop. Drove her to Cleveland Heights to have blood drawn, ended up waiting 3 hours in the ER for a simple blood analysis, had taco bell after. Drove back to the show, stayed for another couple hours, reading plays and playing Civ.
Sunday night after the show was the celebratory dinner at Max & Erma's, a dangerously delicious chain that they have back there. Kinda like Applebees/TGIFriday's/Black Angus kinda feel. Edgy but family friendly. DELICOUS stuff, but a bit pricey. I ended up with fish and chips, which though tasty i regretted for its normalness in a menu of excellent options. I totally made up for it with banana cream pie drizzled with chocolate fudge, which i took home and saved for breakfast monday morning.
Monday started with going back to the barn, sitting around reading while she had class (I was onto Equus by this point, fittingly enough). Then back to her house, packing, grabbing dinner at Chipotle, and driving to the airport in cleveland during rush hour.
So. Leaving Cleveland. I was a bit worried since I was running late to catch the 6 oclock flight due to Cleveland traffic, but with a belly full of chipotle, made it in time and found the gate, only to discover that the plane (which was a taxi plane between philly and cleveland) was already late getting to Cleveland. And then we had a delay once the plane was at the gate. So I ended up being an hour and a half late, and a half hour late for my connecting flight. And stuck in Philadelphia til the following morning at 7.
So what does a Nick do when a Nick has several hours in an airport? Explore, of course! The main Philly hallway had the shops, with all the normal airplane gift shop stuff. Instead of benches, though, the sides were lined with cute little white rocking chairs. And there were plenty of bars, ohhhhh plenty of bars and pubs. heh.
Went to sleep on the floor of the terminal where my flight was going out of the following morning, with CNN news blaring overhead. But, I only got about 3 hours of sleep, and seeing as I'd heard the same news loop 6 times in a row, I decided it was time for more exploring. Found a cute little bakery that was open early, marked where the shops and services were, wrote out and sent some postcards, found two more terminals that were not intuitive to find the entrances to, and found a life-size replica of the Liberty Bell in legos. I studied that for quite a while. Also found an astronaut and samauri hanging from the ceiling.
6 am, headed back for my terminal, had a bagel breakfast sandwich, bought a pack of gum, and boarded the plane to Phoenix.
Got to Phoenix around 10, wandered around, bought a shirt and lunch, considered buying a pack of Mexican Jumping Beans, and got on the plane to Sac, where Matt and Adie picked me up and we went to Fanny Ann's for lunch.
Overall, a good trip, with many select details here omitted. And on the trip, I read Equus, Moon Over Buffalo, Talley's Folly, Mother Courage and Her Children, Our Country's Good, Hamletmachine, various Ives bits, and a flurry of other pieces.
I could have probably skipped work and my Tuesday class this week and stayed through next weekend, but there's that whole business of trying to get back to Sac next Sun or Mon, when EVERYBODY and their cousin is in the airports, and I'd have to fight everyone else in Philly for sleeping space on the floor of the terminal. Not so much, really.
In any case, CB's back in Sac on Dec 12th, which is awesome cuz she'll get to come see the directing finals. Which I should get started working on with my folks sooner than later. Oy.
Also. This morning I turned the comp off and was getting ready to go see friends. And then I woke up several hours later on the floor. Not sure what transpired between getting up from my chair and waking up on the floor, but I can only presume that I fell asleep. At least it wasn't the car this time. Oy.
Friday, after Directing Class, Matt and Adie picked me up from my house and dropped me off at the airport. Got on the plane to Vegas, dropped $30 in the slots in the terminal, and got on my plane to Cleveland. Arrived in Cleveland on Saturday at 6:30 am East Coast time (that's 3:30 am West Coast time, my normal going-to-bed-hour). CB picked me up, we drove back to Painesville, and dropped my stuff off at her place and met her roommates.
Saturday Evening, went out to see Autumn Rush, which is an excellent film. I noted striking similarities to Oliver Twist, but since CB hasn't read or seen it, I was alone in my observations. Robin Williams was good, though I wanted just a smidge more of him. Good movie, a bit contrived, but good nonetheless.
Got ice cream at Baskin Robbins and went back to her house.
Now might be a good time to note that due to nuclear pollution in the local tap water system, she started growing extra limbs and is "not supposed to be on her feet or engaging in strenuous activity. Rather, she should be on home rest." So she can't ride until the extra bits are amputated, but she can groom much more efficiently now.
Got up at like 6 am to drive to the barn and prep for a huge dressage horse show Sunday. She's organized these before, and was even going to ride in this one, but what with her legs and doc's orders, she was stuck in a chair giving orders to the rest of the dressage team and staff. I, meanwhile, was up above the lobby watching the show in the arena below and playing computer games on her laptop. Drove her to Cleveland Heights to have blood drawn, ended up waiting 3 hours in the ER for a simple blood analysis, had taco bell after. Drove back to the show, stayed for another couple hours, reading plays and playing Civ.
Sunday night after the show was the celebratory dinner at Max & Erma's, a dangerously delicious chain that they have back there. Kinda like Applebees/TGIFriday's/Black Angus kinda feel. Edgy but family friendly. DELICOUS stuff, but a bit pricey. I ended up with fish and chips, which though tasty i regretted for its normalness in a menu of excellent options. I totally made up for it with banana cream pie drizzled with chocolate fudge, which i took home and saved for breakfast monday morning.
Monday started with going back to the barn, sitting around reading while she had class (I was onto Equus by this point, fittingly enough). Then back to her house, packing, grabbing dinner at Chipotle, and driving to the airport in cleveland during rush hour.
So. Leaving Cleveland. I was a bit worried since I was running late to catch the 6 oclock flight due to Cleveland traffic, but with a belly full of chipotle, made it in time and found the gate, only to discover that the plane (which was a taxi plane between philly and cleveland) was already late getting to Cleveland. And then we had a delay once the plane was at the gate. So I ended up being an hour and a half late, and a half hour late for my connecting flight. And stuck in Philadelphia til the following morning at 7.
So what does a Nick do when a Nick has several hours in an airport? Explore, of course! The main Philly hallway had the shops, with all the normal airplane gift shop stuff. Instead of benches, though, the sides were lined with cute little white rocking chairs. And there were plenty of bars, ohhhhh plenty of bars and pubs. heh.
Went to sleep on the floor of the terminal where my flight was going out of the following morning, with CNN news blaring overhead. But, I only got about 3 hours of sleep, and seeing as I'd heard the same news loop 6 times in a row, I decided it was time for more exploring. Found a cute little bakery that was open early, marked where the shops and services were, wrote out and sent some postcards, found two more terminals that were not intuitive to find the entrances to, and found a life-size replica of the Liberty Bell in legos. I studied that for quite a while. Also found an astronaut and samauri hanging from the ceiling.
6 am, headed back for my terminal, had a bagel breakfast sandwich, bought a pack of gum, and boarded the plane to Phoenix.
Got to Phoenix around 10, wandered around, bought a shirt and lunch, considered buying a pack of Mexican Jumping Beans, and got on the plane to Sac, where Matt and Adie picked me up and we went to Fanny Ann's for lunch.
Overall, a good trip, with many select details here omitted. And on the trip, I read Equus, Moon Over Buffalo, Talley's Folly, Mother Courage and Her Children, Our Country's Good, Hamletmachine, various Ives bits, and a flurry of other pieces.
I could have probably skipped work and my Tuesday class this week and stayed through next weekend, but there's that whole business of trying to get back to Sac next Sun or Mon, when EVERYBODY and their cousin is in the airports, and I'd have to fight everyone else in Philly for sleeping space on the floor of the terminal. Not so much, really.
In any case, CB's back in Sac on Dec 12th, which is awesome cuz she'll get to come see the directing finals. Which I should get started working on with my folks sooner than later. Oy.
Also. This morning I turned the comp off and was getting ready to go see friends. And then I woke up several hours later on the floor. Not sure what transpired between getting up from my chair and waking up on the floor, but I can only presume that I fell asleep. At least it wasn't the car this time. Oy.