Traveler – Page 11 – It Is Trish

How I Attended Seth Meyer’s Monologue Rehearsal at NBC Studios

December 11, 2015Trish3 Comments

Mom and I were leaving the NBC gift shop when a woman approached us. “Would you like to see Seth Meyers?” she asked.

“Um, what?” I said, very eloquently.

“We need people to participate in his monologue rehearsal. It’s just forty people or so. You’ll meet the writing staff and Seth Meyers – it’s very intimate. I have three spots left.”

“Is it free?” Mom asked, very practically.

“Yes! You can show up or not, it’s totally up to you.”

Mom and I exchanged a look. Her eyes seemed to say, please choose, I don’t know enough about what is going on. I answered the NBC worker, “Sure. Thanks.”

As we walked away, Mom asked, “Who is Seth Meyers?” Continue reading →

I Can Die In Peace, Because I Saw Hamilton on Broadway

December 10, 2015December 18, 2015Trish3 Comments

… …

I don’t even! Know! Where to begin. Half of me feels very centered and calm, like I could die because life has given me its greatest gift: seeing Hamilton on Broadway with its original cast. The other half of me wants to spin in circles shouting into the sky because life has given me its greatest gift: seeing Hamilton on Broadway with its original cast.

At this point in the day, Mom’s excitement is a little bit forced. By the end, she was fangirling hard.

Our hotel is a three minute walk (turn right on 46th) from Richard Rodgers Theatre, so it was a Hamilton kind of day. We walked past at noon, and I tried to control an intense wave of envy when we saw the lucky 21 lottery winners who would be seeing the matinee in just two hours. But we had back-row seats for the night’s performance, so I swallowed my jealousy and followed my mom around other, less important areas of New York City.

We were back at the theater at 4:30. I wanted to be early for #ham4ham, which began at 5:55. Ridiculously early, but serendipitous. I asked a woman standing by a barricade if she was in line for the lottery, and she said no, the matinee was about to let out, and this was where the cast came out to sign autographs. “Okay then,” I said, claiming a front row spot in front of the door. Continue reading →

How I Got Tickets to See Hamilton on Broadway

December 9, 2015December 4, 2015Trish6 Comments

[Editor’s Note: If at any point while reading this you think, Wow, she’s a spoiled brat, you are correct.]

Yesterday I discussed the process my mom and I went through as we planned to come to NYC (we’re here now!). I’ll be honest: I’m always up for a trip, but I wasn’t super excited about going to NYC again (my mom and I went for a few days in July 2010). The fact that it will be the Christmas season was definitely a bonus, but still, my passion level was at about a 6 out of 10.

AND THEN. A few days later, I discovered the musical Hamilton, and if you’ve been paying attention to this blog at all, the rest is history.

My brain quickly put together: Hamilton is on Broadway, and Broadway is in NYC. Suddenly the trip was a 10 out of 10. I immediately looked at their website, and my passion plummeted to a 0. They were sold out. For months.

This roller coaster of emotion continued. I discovered #ham4ham, a lottery in which Lin-Manuel Miranda and cast perform a little bit to street crowds, then offer 21 front row tickets in a raffle – if you win, you pay $10 (because Hamilton is on the bill). Awesome!, I thought. Until I read on and saw that every single day, an average of 700 people show up to put their names in the raffle. I calculated our odds to be .003%. Noooo. Continue reading →

Off to NYC!

December 8, 2015December 3, 2015Trish2 Comments

When your mom says she wants to take you on a mother/daughter trip to New York City, the answer should always be Yes.

Of course, it wasn’t quite that simple.

Several times, my mom mentioned wanting to go to NYC together before I leave for Greece, and every time I said sure, okay. But she kept asking, so I became more certain that the trip would not happen. You see, my mom and I plan very differently. I operate on gut instincts, and when I say I will go somewhere, it’s a done deal, and the rest (travel, lodging, etc) will follow after. My mom likes to think things through for a while before committing. She interpreted my immediate yes as me flippantly agreeing, and I interpreted her waiting as her not really being interested. Thankfully, we avoided the perils of miscommunication this time and after a couple weeks of awkward conversations, we bought our plane tickets (unlike the 2014 $999 trip to Ireland that included airfare, car rental, and four nights in castles, but I’m not still hung up on that or anything)!

And what tickets. I found us seats on Southwest: $40 going and $110 coming back. Let me repeat that: we’re flying from Chicago to NYC in December, two people, for a total of $300. On top of that, I had an $80 credit from the flight I cancelled during #32DaysInMyCar, so we only spent $220 combined. Continue reading →

By Land and By Sea

November 24, 2015TrishLeave a comment

There is something about exploring a city on my own that both invigorates and calms me. Maybe it’s the sense of ownership that it creates, knowing that I managed to find my way around without help, confident that I actually am competent. Although I enjoy traveling with friends, I really appreciate opportunities to set off into the wild unknown…of civilized Seattle.

King Street Station, where Amtrak’s Empire Builder line ends.

We left off (in #44DaysInATrain: DAY THREE) with me in the coffeeshop Zeitgeist, waiting for my brother Roy’s lunch break. At noon, we arranged to meet for Thai food. I would walk one way down 1st Ave, he the other, and eventually we would meet up. I put on my purse, threw my backpack on, and clutched my duffel bag, then cut a wide swath down the sidewalk. Just when a homeless man called out, “Welcome home!” I wondered if I’d gone too far. My phone rang, and Roy said, “I’m almost to Zeitgeist. Where are you?” We had missed each other, and I had gone further than the restaurant, so we both turned around and eventually met in front of our Thai restaurant. Continue reading →

#44HoursInATrain: DAY THREE

November 23, 2015Trish2 Comments

8:20AM
42 hours down | 2 to go

I blinked awake and saw total darkness outside. Then I blinked again and saw a blur of trees and mountains and snow. We’d just exited a tunnel, and I jolted into consciousness. It was so beautiful! We’d gone through Glacier National Park in the dark last night (should have planned on taking the train both ways) and before that, North Dakota and Montana were pretty flat and, well, boring. BUT NOW. We’re in Washington, and everything is stunningly beautiful.

Including Devon. Readers, I have not been entirely honest with you. I’ve been making eyes at this tall blond guy the whole trip, every time he or I pass in the aisle. By “making eyes” I mean I’ve made eye contact, smiled, and immediately looked away. I didn’t mention it because a) it was pathetic, and b) he didn’t act like he cared, which was hurtful.

But this morning, in a grand scheme of Let’s Give Tricia Everything She Wants, I threw my increasingly-greasy hair in a bun on top of my head, wound my scarf around my shoulders, and made my way back two cars to the observation lounge. We were in a tunnel again, and everything was dark. When I got to the doorway to the lounge car, Tall Blond Guy and Nice Woman (from dinner the first night) were blocking it. There was no other option: I would have to speak to him. Continue reading →

#44HoursInATrain: DAY TWO

November 22, 2015November 22, 2015TrishLeave a comment

7:45AM
17.5 hours down | 26.5 to go

Okay, so the whole sleeping-on-a-train thing is not as great as I’d imagined. Although the rocking of the train puts me in a cat nap almost instantaneously, getting significant deep sleep is difficult. The seats recline, and there are footrests that can lever up. I brought a scarf that is massive enough to double as a blanket, and I used my jacket as a pillow. Still, with all of that, train seats are not beds.

I woke up for good a little after 7:00, and I discovered a dressing room down the toilet hallway. There aren’t showers for those of us in coach, but changing just enough clothes to feel like it’s a new day goes a long way toward making me feel clean. Continue reading →

#44HoursInATrain: DAY ONE

November 21, 2015November 21, 2015Trish2 Comments

3:22PM
1 hour down | 43 to go

Back in July, I decided it would be fun to go to Seattle to celebrate Thanksgiving with my brother Roy. I happened to see that Amtrak had a deal, so in a fit of whimsy, I bought a train ticket. Today I begin #44HoursInATrain, which simultaneously feels like the best and worst decision of my life.

The whole thing is new to me. At Union Station in Chicago, I wandered to what I thought was my gate. I got in line behind a group of Amish men and women, only to find out that all of us were not allowed to be there. I went back to the main terminal, marching with confidence. It must have looked fake, however, because a big Santa Claus of a man asked if I knew where I was going. I thrust my ticket at him and asked where I ought to go. Continue reading →

An Unplanned Night in Chicago

November 21, 2015November 21, 2015TrishLeave a comment

When I visited Athens in March earlier this year, I was put in a dorm room with an American girl for a roommate. Kelly was a college student studying abroad, and she was a constant source of fun and encouragement while I went through an evaluation to work for House of Damaris. She bought me Greek snacks. She took me downtown one night to sit on Mars Hill and then grab dinner overlooking the Acropolis. She bought me a Nutella-filled doughnut after one day of evaluation was particularly hard.

My relationship with Kelly is pretty much “Hi, I’m a stranger! Can I room with you? And do you mind taking me into a city to show me around?” When a snow storm caused my mom travel anxiety, we decided to go to Chicago Friday night instead of Saturday afternoon to catch my train to Seattle. I booked a hotel, but messaged Kelly as a backup. She’s studying in Chicago now, and she immediately offered to let me stay the night with her. The hotel was cancelled, and off I went to Kelly’s apartment! Continue reading →

Thinking of Paris

November 14, 2015November 14, 2015Trish3 Comments

I never really know how to address world events on this blog – a place where I regularly fangirl about boy bands and YA novels. I do occasionally take a more serious tone, but rarely do I comment on current tragedies. This is only exacerbated by the fact that I’ve never been to Paris, I don’t know anyone in Paris, and I have no direct connection to what they’re going through.

But then I think: that’s exactly what makes my participation so meaningful. When people who have no emotional connection to tragedy decide to empathize anyway – that’s beautiful.

I love living in a global community, where the pain of one country is felt by all. I hope that, in the midst of their heartache, Parisians will know that the rest of the world is hurting with them, and that maybe that will give them a taste of hope.

I am so impressed by the courage of Parisians who will continue to live their lives, going to work and playing with their children and walking the streets. “Not Afraid.” That’s a bold declaration that terror will not win. Life goes on, and we demand that it will go on.

Maybe I do have a personal stake here. Because I’ve already read a post on Facebook saying that terror attacks will only continue in Europe because of ISIS members sneaking in amongst refugees. And sure, maybe that’s true. But I like to think the answer to that can also be, “Not afraid.” We will not let terror win. We will not let the fear of violence stop us from helping those in need.

Terror attacks are designed to make us huddle into ourselves, to strengthen us vs. them lines, and to close off compassion. Perhaps instead, we can bravely choose to do the opposite, to widen our arms’ embrace and reach out. We are not afraid…to live, or to love.