T minus 2 weeks till the big move.  I am really excited.

No more 3rd floor.

No more carrying my laundry down to the first floor and across the complex.

No more 1-person-at-a-time kitchen.

At the same I time I feel kinda old.  Getting my own place.  A pretty nice place, with my own things etc.  I guess it makes me a true-blue adult in like every context.

I keep hearing Independent Women playing in my head though and it helps keep me grounded (feet planted to the ground while doing a lil 2 step with my hands up in the air).

I wonder if I will be lonely.  I guess I can always hit up craigslist singles…

First of all, its a well known fact that satan loves the color red.  He is also a big advocate of violence and war.  If he didn’t think of it himself, I’m sure he loved the idea of an actual target as a logo. They were after all designed for shooting practice. Don’t even get me started on the “horn” symbolism of a bulls eye!

Satan is also full of empty promises.  He offers amazingly awesome things for just a mere soul or two, no biggie.  You’re probably thinking that rings a bell.  That’s because it does.  Expect more, pay less.

I plan to never shop at target again.  Unless I have a gift card, that’s another story.  Or if everywhere else is closed, or far.  Or maybe if they have a really great deal.  I have a soul to spare.

November, December and 8 days of Jan have come to pass. Here are some highlights:

The Cougars finished their season 12-0 for the first time in UH history!!! This was our epic Cinderella story season primed for history books and a Feature Film. (I would like to be played by Anne Hathaway, she just seems like such a nice lady.) Then they cougars ripped my heart into dozens of tear-shaped pieces with a loss at our championship game. Thank goodness we started drinking at 8am or there would have been some serious suicides in those stands. (IF WE HAVE TO GO TO ONE MORE G D ARMED FORCES BOWL!!!!)

Keeping on topic, the Coogs still made it to the TicketCity Bowl (Yeah I had never heard of that bowl either). Although it wasn’t the awesome Sugar Bowl in NEW ORLEANS, we still decided to buy some tickets and rep our Coogs in Dallas on Jan 2. Awesome drive, awesome company (Shout out to Nikki, James, and Emmanuel!!!) awesome game, and EPIC FINGER ACTION (see finger below). The 30-14 victory over the Pen State molesters kinda sorta rebuilt some of my heart.  Unfortunately my bff couldn’t make it to the game since she was sick in the hospital for-basically-ever. Without her to sing the songs with me I was forced to sing them louder and with more feeling (sorry Nikki, James and Emmanuel).

I enjoyed having a little extra time off for the Holidays.  I went to my parents the day before x-mas eve for dinner and drinks (actually we only had one drink and passed out on the couch around 9 p.m. while watching The Santa Claus).  I stayed the night and Kim made me breakfast too!  Then I drove to Austin to spend time with my sister and niece.  I met her new bf Phil.  All you need to know about him is that he is a leo.  (Does this photo make me look tall?)

My niece got a kindle fire but still spend 70% of the day playing with a huge barbie airplane.  We all laughed when she suggested Trisha and I should have some “sister time” while we were singing some xmas songs.  Lol can’t wait till she is a teenager, jk i can wait a long long time.  I got a really sweet coffee maker from my parents!  We really missed Jeannifer, but The Pointing Sisters (not Pointer) were back in action!

Other great events:

10-Man-Jam with Kim.  I won free VIP passes from Spec’s on Facebook!  This was last minute but crazy fun.

THE Wheel Chair Race, starring Arinn and Yours Truely, officiated and documented by Angie.

Work Holiday Party at Gigi’s Asian Bistro in the galleria.  Any event at OMGigi’s is sure to be unforgettable, its science.

We (Only Amy, Nikki and myself) got 5th place at trivia as well as best team name with an xmas song theme “We Saw Mommy Blowing Santa Claus.”  Jump to Jan 3rd and we got 3rd place (add Beau and Paula)!!!

The Texans made it to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history and won the first round!

Cranium and Apples-2-Apples with the girls. Great food, great conversations, great drinks, and games.  Does life get any better?

Ill end this with a quote from my niece Bella “Seize the day…. losers”

In real life we really do argue a lot but I have exaggerated it slightly for your entertainment.

The Headband
by: SarahFullaGrace

Sarah and Arinn
by: sarahlizgreace

Lots!

So first off my friend Arinn and I planned to get student Guest Passes for the game like we did for the previous two games we attended this season.  Our friend Emmanuel who still goes to UH gets them for us.  We found out on that Monday that the game was sold out and they weren’t selling ANY guest passes!!!!!!!!  NOOOOOOOOOO.

After a minor nervous breakdown I searched all week on CL and stubhub for un-ridiculously priced tickets without success.  The prices were CRAZY ridiculous, but it figures since it was one of the BIGGEST GAMES IN UH HISTORY seeing how the COOGS were undefeated and ranked #11 in the BCS, AND ESPN’s College Game Day was there for the first time in ever.

So our back up, back up plan was to win tickets at Home Depot during the sign contest.  Here are our signs.

Yeah, I know you just smiled at how clever we are.  Unfortunately the judges didn’t agree with you, and we didn’t even make it to the second round.  Arinn’s MOM won some tho!!  Yay we were going to College Game Day AND the game now.  I’m not sure if it was destiny or fate but either way we were both thrilled.

Online it said you were not allowed to camp out to get in the pit for College Game Day and the earliest you could start lining up was 4 a.m.  I woke up promptly at 3 a.m. and left for the lines.  I met Arinn and Emmanuel and we hung out with hundreds of UH students exemplifying UH Spirit.  We were The Pride!  A few news stations came out and recorded us screaming and lining up so early.  I secretly think most of the students in line didn’t go to sleep at all and came drunk from bars and what not.  Arinn and Emmanuel only got one hour of sleep.  He looks so sleepy lol.

We passed the time telling each other secrets, lol.  Around 6 a.m. they let everyone start entering the pit.  At 8am they started filming on ESPNU.  I really wanted to get my sign on ESPN because The Den was giving out $100 bar tabs to anyone who made a sign with their logo on it that made it on ESPN.

When they switched over to regular ESPN at 9 a.m. we were finally filmed on camera, YAY!  Arinn saw it on the big screen there.  We stayed until almost 10 and then it started raining so we went to Emmanuel’s to sit and relax until the Den opened at 11. We got some free sandwiches and drinks and Steve hung our sign up on the second floor.

We left the Den around 12:15 for the game.  Gates opened at 12:30 and I took a little nap on the bleacher stands while waiting for the game to start.  For some reason Arinn thought this was the perfect time to take a picture…

The game was SO GOOD.  You could tell that SMU was a tougher team than the ones we have been playing recently since UH didn’t run up the score in the first half.  What was more surprising was the defense though.  They didn’t let SMU score until the 4th quarter.  SMU only turned over 5-15 third downs.

Case Keenum tied for another NCAA record.  Hogan the kicker set the FBS record of 78-for-78 on extra point kicks this season.  Houston remained undefeated at 11-0 with a final score of 37-7.  I went home after the game and passed out.  It was EPIC.

I turned 25 which was pretty scary, but hey its much better than the alternative.  I was carded twice this past weekend too which (unlike me) really never gets old

Let’s see some major events.  NYC of course is number one and I already wrote all about it.  Two UH football games are prob second GO COOGS!!!.  The weather was really perfect at the first one and it poured off and on at the Rice game but it didn’t matter to us since we won the Bayou Bowl!!!
Sidenote, The UH cougars are still undefeated this year at 8-0 and ranked at 13 in the BCS.  Case Keenum our QB broke the NCAA all-time passing record.  He basically rocks.  I went to Big Daddy’s BBQ on sat (LOVE THAT PLACE) and I was wearing a UH hoodie and two people there asked me if I went to UH and I told them how the Coogs are undefeated and they thought I was talking about the Volleyball team.  SMH Houston ppl need to support our COOGS more.  Its really sad.

AnyWAYS…  I saw the Ides of March and In Time this month.  They were both pretty good though the ending of Ides of March was strange.

I also won Buzzfestivus tickets.  SCORE the Headliner is Rage Against and Flobots is opening along with another band I have never even heard of…  I also was deemed Uncontrollably Loveable (Sweet!)

My roommate got me this Aerial Silks sample class for my bday.  We went last weekend.  It was pretty cool and a serious work out.  I wish they would have taught us some cooler moves (we only learned how to hold the rope and pull ourselves up on it) and they wanted you to join the 6-week sessions to learn more.  I would get some serious upper body strength if I did join which I don’t plan on lol.

Well I can’t think of any other major events that happened in October.  I made this site!

I’m looking forward to having a couple days off for the Thanksgiving break.  My sister and niece are coming to stay with me and we are going to the Ren Fair.  It’s going to be so much fun!  Stay tuned to IKnowSarah.com for awesomeness.

Maydelle decided she would rather sleep than get up super early to see The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I have already seen them so I more than okay with getting more sleep. We decided to wear our matching I <3 NY Shirts.

We had been trying to do the NBC Studio tour the entire trip but were unable to fit it in, until NOW. We got tickets and were ready to go.  (No running through Times Square this time!)

Before the tour, the NBC Pages (just like Kenneth in 30 Rock!) showed us an 8 minute video about the founding of NBC, Comcast, and Universal. It was fun and funny and inspiring.

Then we started the tour, where we were forced to turn off our phones and warned we were not allowed to take pictures at ANY part of the tour. As we were boarding the elevator to go up to the control room we saw Tina Fey walk by and she waved at us. Our page said they were filming for 30 Rock. I love that show!

We first toured where the do the news which was pretty bland. Afterwards we went to another floor to see where they tape SNL. That was a lot of fun. We also saw where they film Jimmy Fallon (which we already saw on Friday when we were in the studio audience) and then a short video about makeup. The tour was 70 minutes total but it seemed much shorter.

When we left we only had time to grab a slice, and take the subway back to Abraham’s. When we got back he found out that he just got a job offer for a Sundance Movie. That was really exciting. We called a cab and said our goodbyes and headed for the airport. We left New York that evening. It was hard, take my word for it.

The 2-hour tour started at 42nd and headed south past Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn then turned back around about halfway around Manhattan.  The ride was superb and we got a lot of great shots.

We got back to the pier around 1:30 and jumped in a taxi back to Rockefeller Center, hoping to have time to do the NBC studio tour before Jersey Boys at 3:30.  We got there and they had a tour that started at 2:00 and they said it was 70 minutes and we decided not to risk it and go to lunch before the play instead.

When we got our New York Passes there were specific restaurants that had special deals for cardholders.  At Mars 2112 they offered Free Entry (normally $2 per person) plus VIP seating AND free dessert.  As an added bonus it was only 2 blocks from Jersey Boys, so we incontestably decided to go there.

You had to walk down from street level to get to the restaurant.  It looked closed, but we walked up and tried the door and it was open.  It looked like a gift shop so I asked the one guy standing there (in mad scientist garb) if it was a restaurant and he said it was and we could either watch a 4-minute video and then go get a table or go straight to a table.  When in Rome, we requested the video.

Words do not describe how mindless the “movie” was.  We sat in a little space ship, pod sort of room that you couldn’t really stand up all the way in to watch a stupid movie about a space shuttle that looked like it was made in 1912.  After the video he escorted us back to the restaurant through the Martian looking caves and past the huge bar.  I thought we were the only ones there until we got to the main dining room.

Once we got to the hostess stand we saw that the waiters were all in Star Trek sort of suits or dressed up as aliens, (I know you are crazy jealous!).  This place was evidently directed towards children but we were like whatever we gotta eat and its free dessert.

After some lame jokes exchanged between our waiter and Maydelle we ordered and started talking about our trip.  I happened to look at our tickets, “OH CRAP MAYDELLE JERSEY BOYS STARTS AT 3 not 3:30!!!!!!!!!!!! Its 2:51!!!”  We called the waiter over and told him we were in a crazy rush that we thought it started at 3:30 but it started in 9 minutes and that WE HAD TO LEAVE to bring our check STAT.

He left and was taking forever and EVER.  Maydelle and I ate the rest of our food as fast as we possibly could.  He didn’t come back so we left cash on the table and scrambled out of there to get to the show.  Luckily it was only 2 blocks away so we would be cutting it close, but we would make it.  Sometimes its fun to raise the stakes and live on the edge.  Other times it sucks.

When we were at the end of the street the waiter pops up accusing us of Dining and Dashing and I told him we left cash on the table.  After he public chastised us for a few minutes, I told him we had tickets for the show and we would be late if we kept standing there arguing with him, so we went back with him to the restaurant. He found out that the hostess had picked up the money.  So here we are again outlandishly running though Times Square.  We made a grand entrance by running up like 4-5 flights of stairs to our seats.  The instant we sat down the lights went out and the play started.  I was out of breath and felt nauseous for the first ten minutes from rush eating, running and general panic and alarm.  But we definitely know how to keep things interesting.

THE PLAY WAS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!  It was about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.  I didnt think I knew who they were, but I knew a ton of their songs (Sherry, Big Girls Don’t Cry, There’s Always Something There To Remind Me, Candy girl, Working my Way Back to You, Will you Still Love Me Tomorrow, Can’t Take My Eyes off of You.)  The singing, dancing and acting were sensational.  Maydelle and I were singing their songs for the rest of the trip.  I want to get the soundtrack!

I got a photo and an autograph from the main guy who played Frankie Valli.
Here is a video we filmed that I put on YouTube but the end got cut off when I ran out of memory on my SD card:

We got out of the show at 5:30 and hung out in Times Square till 7 when we met Abraham at Planet Hollywood for dinner.  Dinner was pretty good, and afterwards we went to a comedy show.  I think there were about 8 comedians that all did about 5 minutes each.  Two of them were HILARIOUS, two were kind of funny, and the other 4 were just annoying.  Abraham cry-laughed at one of the guys who was talking about his friend who died… Yeah, not funny dude.  It was enjoyable though.  Afterwards, we went back to the apt (I feel like I need to mention it 6 flights up again for some reason) to sleep.

Maydelle and I on the Subway.

We made our way back to the subway and found our way to Central Park for a 2-hour, 2-mile walking Movie and TV Sites Tour.  IT WAS AMAZING!  They showed us where they filmed Home Alone 2, Breakfast at Tiffanys, Bride Wars, Big Daddy, Gossip Girl, Maid in Manhattan, and dozens more.  The park was so beautiful and it was in the upper 60s with a nice cool breeze.  The yellow leaves were falling and they looked like hundreds of butterflies drifting to the ground.

Maydelle’s friend Shannon joined us for the tour.  She was really funny and nice and seemed to enjoy the tour as much as we did.  If I lived in New York I would walk/run in Central Park everyday of the week.  The first photo is Maydelle and Shannon, then Maydelle frolicking in the park.

While in the park I bought a joke for $1.  It wasn’t funny.

After the walking tour we hitched a ride on a bike taxi thing to McGee’s Irish Pub where we were to meet the bus tour at 3pm for a 3-hour movie tour around the Upper East side.  We ate lunch there while waiting and Maydelle’s brother and his bf joined us.  They were really nice and her brother even bought us lunch which was a really sweet gesture.

The bus tour was awesome too.  At most of the red lights the tour guide asked trivia questions (like in cash cab!!!).  Maydelle answered most of them by herself and got like all of the candy he gave out.  Eventually he wouldn’t let us answer anymore.  We stopped at Cafe Lalo where Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan ate at in You’ve Got Mail.  During the tour, the guide showed us what stars lived where and tons of places where they filmed shows and films.  It was also seated which was an added bonus.

After the bus tour we stopped to get some Starbucks with my gift card on the way to the sunset boat cruise around Manhattan.  Right after we left Starbucks Maydelle spotted Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation, Bride Wars, Moneyball, What’s Your Number?, Wanted)  on 49th street with a couple of his buddies.  It was perfect timing since I was eating a giant cookie and drinking a huge Frappuccino.  I considered throwing it down and pretending like it wasn’t mine but I didn’t.  We asked him if we could take a photo with him and he was totally cool about it.  He even asked us where we were from and stuff while we hunted for the camera which I couldn’t seem to find in my excited state.  I had to have them take the photo with my phone and as soon as he left I found the camera right away, of course.

As we continued our walk we planned to find a taxi when we saw a huge crowd.  At first I thought maybe there was another celebrity, then I discovered it was a protest.  Maydelle was like cool lets go see the protest and I said no, we need to get to the Pier and its 10 blocks away at least.  The protest was blocking our way though so we had to walk towards it unless we wanted to go in the opposite direction which we obviously didn’t (to be honest I was tired of standing in general at this point). Once we got up to the protest, people were yelling “Whose streets? OUR STREETS!!!” and it was kinda fun so we started marching down the street with them yelling “OUR STREETS” since it was in the same direction we needed to go anyways.

That was kind of fun at first… Once we got to Times Square with the crowd, they stopped.  There were thousands of people already there yelling tons of things, carrying all kinds of signs.  There were also hundreds of police blocking off the streets.  We tried to keep going in our direction, but they wouldn’t let us go that way no matter how much we argued.  Then we had to turn around and go back the way we came plus 3 blocks in the wrong direction to go around the mess which would have been bad by itself, but on top of that people were all stopped taking photos and holding signs and yelling and chanting and pushing and cussing and we couldn’t move.  Maydelle was grabbing on to me by my bra straps and belt loops which I found bizarre but flattering.  She kept saying she didn’t want to get separated lol.  I guess I was lucky to have someone watching my back though.  It was like a pissed off mosh pit and we were totally crowded.  We eventually pushed our way out though.  We found out the next day that over 80 people were arrested in the protest.

So now we were like 13 blocks from the pier and it was 6:45ish.  The roads were blocked off from traffic so there was no option for a taxi.  We decided to try to make it to the sunset tour and took off running down 42nd street.  We ran off and on until we got to 10th street where they finally allowed cars again and we jumped in a taxi, not realizing we were only 2 blocks from the pier.  The taxi took us 2 blocks, we jumped out and ran up to the ticket counter that looked closed, to find out it was indeed closed.  The sunset tour was moved up to 6, not 7.  We sat down and laughed about that for a while and then caught a taxi to the Empire State Building.

The line was CRAZY at the ESB.  It took about an hour and a half (plus 6 flights of stairs) to make it up to the top to take photos.  Maydelle entertained herself and annoyed many by taking this opportunity to sing to her IPOD while waiting in line.  My least favorite rendition was easily Hakuna Matatta.  It was worth the wait though as it was a beautiful site.   We took a ton of photos and then started heading down.  When I realized we had to wait in another line just to get out I said “I hate this place” but I didn’t mean it, completely.  Here is a photo they made us pay for and we only did because we both liked it so much:

The New York Sky Ride was also included in our New York Passes (Oh yeah I didnt mention that we got these.  We paid up front for the 3-day passes $125 each which included entry to most of the activities we did plus discounts at some of the restaurants and shops) and it was in the same building so we decided to do that while we were there.  It was pretty lame, but free/included so nothing lost there.

After that we ate dinner and took the subway to east Harlem to go to a bar where Abraham bar tends.  There was a live band which was pretty cool but we only had one drink and left because we were so tired.  We took a taxi back to his apt since we don’t know how the buses work and didn’t want to venture around Harlem that late at night by ourselves.  Maydelle already encouraged a super creepy man with his hand in his pants by laughing at his jokes instead of looking in the opposite direction and pretending he wasn’t there like most smart people would do.

We got back to the apartment and watched part of Sweeny Todd with Abraham’s roommate Devon (sp?) and his friend who went to Julliard.  They are both actors, and Devon’s commercial for Dunkin Donuts even came on while we were sitting there which was pretty cool.  Then we finally went to sleep around 2 or so.  All-in-all it was a great day!