11/6/08, HALLOWEEN & HALLELUJAH!

"Hey man, this is the first Halloween I ain't seen nobody throw eggs." -guy outside my window, morning after All Hallows Eve

As Kinsy and I headed downtown for the annual NYC Halloween Parade, we were forewarned that the gangs are notorious for throwing eggs into the crowds on this particular night. As much as I love cultural immersion experiences, I'm grateful that the gangs didn't make their annual showing this year! The parade itself was pretty incredible. 1.8 million spectators lined the streets, decked out in elaborate costumes of every kind. The parade consisted of a variety of floats and marching bands and thousands more people strutting down Broadway showing off their own assortment of costumes. By far the highlight of the entire evening for me was the Jaegermeister float, with everyone dressed up as gigantic deer! It was ridiculous. I liked it.

Kinsy and I kicked off November with a Broadway play called "Equus". Daniel Radcliffe (aka HARRY POTTER!!) was the lead actor and during the second act, stripped down buck naked and ran around the stage for about 20 minutes. Luke had scored us on-stage seating, so we were literally 8-10 feet above the actors! It was intense. Afterwards, we chilled with our friend Matt's lifelong buddy Billy, who happens to be a soap star on CBS' "As the World Turns." I had never met a soap star. First time for everything! He's also in a movie with Demi Moore that is to be released in theaters any day.

Sunday was the world renowned NY Marathon. I had the privelege of cheering on Alexander Endo, my triathlon training buddy from CoeurdAlene!! He did absolutely AMAZING, this being his FIRST MARATHON and beating his goal by 17 minutes!!!! I was in complete AWE of the number of volunteers and folks who came out to cheer on all the 38,000 race participants. The streets were ABSOLUTELY packed with signs and balloons and cheering and music. Great ENERGY! GOOD JOB ALEX! And a shout out to Caleb, my trainer from CDA, who completed the Florida IRONMAN the day before in 11:11. NICE JOB CALEB!!

Sunday night Kinsy and I joined a few of her fellow grad students for a KNICKS game at Madison Square Gardens. The venue is really quite incredible. Though unfortunately Wisconsin ended up kicking the Knicks butts. :(

Favorite "Small World Connection" for the week: Monday morning Kinsy and I headed into Manhattan to meet up with Alex at his ALL-TIME favorite breakfast restaurant. Unsure exactly where to find the restaurant, Kinsy stopped at a little coffee bar to ask the barista directions. As the girl looked up, my eyes practically popped out of my head, it was THERESA THELEN-CLEMMONS!! A good friend of my college roomate Jeremiah. She had hung out at our apartment in Seattle a handful of times back in 2006! I just don't know what to do with all these small world connections. I'm super excited to have run into her because she an amazing gal. I totally look forward to hanging out with her here in NYC!!!!

And last but not least, a word from our 'hood...last night, Kinsy and I were chilling in our living room, watching the progress of the election on TV. Not even a minute after 11pm when Charles Gibson announced that OBAMA had WON THE ELECTION, we heard all sorts of commotion coming from outside. As we stepped out of the building, we were surrounded by cheers and yelling, people hanging out of their windows screaming and whistling while others danced in the street. The Africans were drumming on one corner, while a couple guys blasted Reggaton music from their car and stood on the hood busting a move. Cars were honking, kids were lighting FIREWORKS (that made me want to duck and cover each time they went off!) There was even a cowbell at one point! It was an absolutely JOY FILLED night. HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love is in the air!

Kinz and I are headed to Washington DC tomorrow morning for the weekend! Her grad program has a field trip, so I'm hitching a ride on their bus. Never been to our Nation's Capital. What better time than NOW???!!!

Peace and blessings,
Hana T.