Aug 5, 2010

Once we did a few car switches and weather searches and decided to go to New York despite the forecast, Ryan, Erika, Katie and I were off and through the Holland Tunnel.

The first stop was Cheepz for falafel. I wish we had one of these in Philly. It two bucks for a sandwich and it's delicious. They aren't nearly as friendly as the people at our place but at least the food is good. We sat down at a coffee shop to eat and came back to the car to find a parking ticket. Oops.

We went up to our safe and secure parking garage and then joined the line for the Daily Show; yes, my second time this week. We were a little farther back this time than I was on Tuesday but still close to the front.

Katie and Erika passed the time playing cards. There wasn't room for us all to sit down or we probably would have joined in.

The waiting didn't seem so bad this time either. We had a lot to entertain us like the lady behind us doing squats for no apparent reason and eating a pretzel with mustard all over her face. You can always count on strange people to keep you occupied.

I went in disguise.. well, I changed my clothes, shaved and wore sunglasses and a hat.. since you're technically only supposed to go once per six months. I'm pretty sure they didn't care either way but it made it more exciting.

We were ushered in early to get out of the heat and took our seats before the opening guy came out. The warm-up show was great and the show itself was hilarious. Jon talked a lot about the California judge who overturned Prop 8. Most of us in the crowd were excited about that ruling. Larry Wilmore did a piece on the race card and the guest was an author about Muslims coming to America. I really like the shows where they combine the funny things with seriousness.

We met up with Nathan and Jeff after the show and hopped on a subway downtown to get some dinner.

We went to S'Mac since some of us had never been there. We had to wait a few minutes for seats to open up but then we ordered our steaming hot plates of macaroni and cheese. Nathan really liked his but I think it possessed him. He got a spicy one so they may have seasoned it with the devil.

I tried something different and created my own. I put veggies in it with gruyere cheese. It was really good but I couldn't finish it. More for later! I think everyone enjoyed their cheesy experience.

We went around the corner to a bar and had a few drinks while discussing our predictions on the lifespans of various animals. More often than not our average guess was really close to the right age. If you ever need to know how long an animal will live just ask us and we'll guess.

We all headed to the subway soon after to get home. Nathan headed back to Brooklyn and we rode with Jeff halfway back to where he was headed before we got off and walked back to our car.

After a ride home that just seemed long and a few car transfers I was back home and ready to just fall asleep.

Aug 3, 2010

Chuck, Diebra, Jimmy and I drove up to New York, found a parking garage and then got in line for The Daily Show. We were earlier than the last time I went so we got to be under the awning on the front of the building this time.

Jimmy quickly took a seat to get comfortable since we'd be waiting for a while to go in. At least there were a few interesting people in line to talk to, including a woman who was very excited and whose accent suggested she was from Wisconsin.

There was a lot of wondering when things would start to happen. We were told a few times to use the bathroom before going into the studio. That was their main concern so they kept letting us know.

Finally, someone came out to start explaining things to us, even though we couldn't hear them at all because of the traffic. We got more excited than we should have because we still had to wait.

We got our tickets that guaranteed our entry and shortly after that the line started moving forward and we went inside. Once we were seated and given some basic instructions, the warm-up guy came out and picked on people in the crowd, spending most of his time on a guy in a wheelchair and the woman from Wisconsin that was next to us in line! That whole interaction was hilarious but you really had to be there.

Jon Stewart came out next and took some questions and making some hilarious comments about parents letting their kids go to Amsterdam and special ed teachers. Then the show started. I always find myself looking at the monitors when he's right in front of me. It was really funny but when Will Ferrell came out they were just joking around a lot, not really much of an interview at all. That segment went really quickly. I wish they did a little more for the studio audience at least even though they didn't have airtime for more.

We headed straight out of the city after the taping, not hitting much traffic at all on the way home. It felt really late when I got home even though it was just after ten. I got to sleep early anyway.

Jan 6, 2010

I picked up Joanna and headed to the train station to go into the city in the morning. It was cold out on the platform.

We took the subway and went to Red Bamboo for lunch. I got the "chicken" parm sandwich. It looks like real chicken too but it's soy. It was delicious and way too big for me to finish. I took this half for later.

We headed to the upper West Side to find the Daily Show studio. It is located in this unassuming building. If it weren't for the giant billboard, it would look like any other apartment building. We walked around for a while looking for a place to get a hat and then looking for Joanna's uncle, who works in Central Park. We found neither and then came back to the studio.

The line was pretty long when we got back. We got on the end of the line and were soon moved around the corner for one reason or another. It was very cold out there. I went to Dunkin' Donuts to get a white hot chocolate to warm me up. It only worked a little bit. Someone came out to tell us all the rules and then eventually we were given tickets that finally guaranteed that we would be getting in (up until that point it was unsure even though we had made reservations online).

After what seemed like a long time, they started letting people in. This was a great greeting for us when we came in. We were ushered to our seats, which were the second row back, right on the floor! They were pretty awesome seats and we were some of the last people seated!

We weren't allowed to take photos in the studio at all but after being prepped, the warm-up guy came out to talk to the audience and get everyone laughing. Jon Stewart came out next to do a Q & A with the audience. He was really witty and hilarious with a lot of the questions. He was really friendly and genuine as well. Then the show started just like expected. He was so good. It was like watching on TV except we could see him while the video clips played. Admiral Michael Mullen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was the guest. It was a really good, interesting interview.

Jon came back and thanked everyone after the taping and then they did the intro for the international version of the show before we left. Definitely worth the trip and standing in the cold. He is just as hilarious as I hoped he would be. Better in person.

We decided to seek out the tree at Rockefeller Plaza since it was the last day it would be up. We finally made it to the city without getting snowed out. After one really bad shot, we got a woman to take this shot of both us and the tree! Crazy idea, I know..

We hung out in the area for a while, talking about going to the top of the Rock but decided to save it for another time.

We went back to Penn Station and got Moe's before finding our train. We had to wait for a while so we went to the waiting area and probably annoyed the other miserable people waiting for trains by laughing and being loud.

When we got back to her house we watched The Daily Show listening for our laughs (we didn't hear them) and then watched Colbert and Craig Ferguson. At that point it was late and I ended up staying there instead of driving home.