Random… Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ video of “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” is probably the earliest music video that I remember; it came out when I was 8 so the fact that I remember it is actually pretty weird. It’s a very creepy video, though, so that might also be a reason. Check it out on YouTube if you have no clue what I’m taking about.

Anyways, this is my last blog post (pretty sure of it this time). And now it’s just going to be a free-for-all to random things. You have been warned.

So, last Wednesday was my birthday. My aunt came down from NYC and my parents flew up from Florida. We didn’t do much in DC. On Thursday, we drove to New York with a short detour to Atlantic City. Yeah… my dad and I tend to go to the one place where we know that we’ll get something for our money: the gift shops. My aunt and my mom went off and hit the slots.

Now, I’m not much of a gambler but if there’s a good game of Texas Hold ‘Em, count me in. Not the casino poker tables but the games in your friends’ basement with Aerosmith and Metallica blaring out of iPod speakers and boxes of pizza and bottles of beer scattered everywhere. A Bible containing the buy-ins rest on the fooseball table on the other side of the room. Movie posters of “The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King” and “Dazed and Confused” hang on the cement block walls… Not like I ever been to a poker game like that…

After Altantic City, we drive into the city at around one and we’re so lucky to find a parking spot near my aunt’s Kips’ Bay apartment building. The next day is Friday and I was determined to go rush for “Bye, Bye, Birdie” tickets. “Bye, Bye, Birdie” is a Broadway musical that was recently revived that stars John Stamos and Matt Doyle. Okay, maybe Matt isn’t exact the star of the show, but he’s (mostly) the reason I wanted to see it. Uncle Jesse was just an additional bonus. Oh and since my dad so gracious told both that it was my birthday, I got hugs… then my mom told John that he looked like he lost weight. /palmface

Anyways, my parents and I left at 8:30 to get to the theater and fall in line. We were sixth-eighth by the time we got there and ended up with mezz box seats and upper mezz seats. The Henry Miller Theatre, where the show is playing, was newly renovated and it’s the first green/LEED theatre in New York. The layout is interesting with the street level being the mezz and you actually have to go down to get to the orchestra and the stage. Very different from all the other theatre houses that I have been to.

So, that was Friday night. Friday during the day we drove around and went to Hop Kee in Chinatown (21 Mott St.) for lunch. We’ve been eating here every time we go to New York since I was little. Unfortunately, Chinatown parking is a tad ridiculous and by the time my dad and I found a parking space, my mom and aunt were pretty much done with their meal.

We left early on Saturday to head back to DC since my parents’ plane is on Sunday morning. However, we decided to take the route through Pennsylvania instead of going on 95 South. See, back in the day, my parents used to live and work in New York. They attend NYU Medical School and got their residency at one of the local hospitals. Afterwards, they moved to Lebanon, PA, for a year before moving down to Florida. So, they wanted to drive through Pennsylvania for old times’ sake.

Unfortunately for my dad, my mom found out of a Sands casino in the middle of nowhere Bethlehem, PA. It was a very nice casino, I must say. Have any of y’all seen any of the Harry Potter movies? You know how in the Great Hall, they have the candles floating up near the ceiling. Well, the ceiling of this casino kind-of looked like that. It was nifty. It seemed like the casino (and hotel) used to be an old factory. I kind-of like when buildings get re-purposed instead of being teared down.

Another unfortunate occurrence for my dad was that my mom knew that there was an outlet mall nearby, in Reading, PA. So, we headed there. Got some pretty good deals. Speaking of which, this has nothing to do with outlet malls, but for the gals out there, see if you have a Shecky’s Girl Night Out coming to your city. This is kind-of awesome. I never really buy anything at it but they have some cool things for sale at a reduced price. I usually got for the goodie bag and the freebies that you find whether it’s free drinks or hand lotions. The goodie bag is the best, though. The entrance cost $25 but some of the items that you get in the bag is even worth double that price.

Yeah, you see that water there? One bottle cost $36. Swag is pretty awesome.

After the outlet mall, we drove to Lancaster aka Amish country for some shoo-fly pie. If you haven’t had shoo-fly pie, you really must. I took the trip from DC to Lancaster the week before when I met Jonathan Groff, who’s an absolute peach, by the way.  Anyways, I didn’t try shoo-fly pie when I was there. In fact, the only other time I’ve ever heard of shoo-fly pie was from a segment of Marc Summers’ Food Network show. And it didn’t seem appealing to me. Then, I tried it… and it was delicious. It reminded me of a pumpkin pie but less texture. Now, I’m searching for a place here in DC to buy some.

And we went home. And that was the end of my birthday week.

So, now that I bored you to death with that. Let me leave you with some things that I think you should check out.

• PostSecret- quite an awesome experiment that seems like such a release to everyone who send something in. The link is to the website which is updated with new secrets every Sunday. Frank has four PostSecret books out now and will be releasing the latest one soon, so take a look at them.
• Save a Manatee- When I was younger, I really wanted to adopt a manatee. I lived for a couple of years in DeLand, FL which is right near Blue Springs State Park where manatees live during the winter months.
• A Very Potter Musical- Seriously. This is awesome. Even if you have never read/seen Harry Potter. The cast, script, band, production crew, etc. are very talented to put this together so have a gander.
• Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids- I love theatre, if you might have guessed, and I’m fortunate to be able to go see productions on Broadway and here in DC. There are so many actors and actresses out there who start their careers in theater, whether it’s their local ones or traveling to a major city for a shot there. This charitable organization is one that is pretty well known in the US. Every once in a while after a show, the cast will announce that ushers will be standing in the lobby with buckets for donations. It’s a good cause and many Broadway peeps support it.

And that’s all she wrote. Thanks again to John for letting me blog a little and evenutally, one day, we’ll grab that bite to eat. Thanks to the readers who have put up with me. Heh… I shall go back now to lurking.