Mika: An Intimate Evening

One of the first things I did in preparation for our return to the states was to check whether or not Mika was going to be on tour and if he would be passing through DC.  He was in fact on tour....he just wasn't coming to DC.  Sad face.  Then, something wonderful happened in February (possibly me just misreading the tour schedule before) and he WAS coming to DC after all!  Squee!  It was to be a limited engagement taking place at DC's Sixth & I Historic Synagogue.  Only 500 tickets were going to be available for the April 10th concert event that was being billed as "An Intimate Evening."  TJ and I camped out at our computers waiting for the on-sale time, and our efforts were rewarded handsomely.  (One perk of Judaism?  TJ had signed up for the synagogue's mailing list...the only bit of advertising that we ever saw for this show.)

An excruciatingly slow two months later we found ourselves standing in a line 100 people deep an hour before the doors were expected to open.  General Admission was the name of the game, and we didn't want to be stuck in the back row.  Wednesday was I guess what you could call the first real day of spring here in DC after an extended winter filled with ice, slush, snow and overall miserably cold days.  Unfortunately, it felt more like an oppressively hot summer day.  Wanting good seats but worrying about dying of heat stroke before making it past the front door if we camped out all day, we instead opted for a late lunch at the DC Hard Rock Cafe (one of my biggest guilty pleasures) followed by an afternoon basking in the shade of the DC Cherry Blossoms, which had just bloomed.

Arriving an hour ahead turned out to be pretty good timing, as the remaining 400 or so people arrived shortly thereafter.  I was still slightly concerned that we wouldn't get premium seating, but that was for naught.  When the doors opened, we happily plopped ourselves down in the fifth row.  Boredom during the time between sitting and the start of the show is always a concern, but that fear was abated following the discovery of the wine cart.  An easy breezy hour later we were enjoying the opening act, which consisted of two DJ's spinning short 10-15 second snippets of pop music from all periods....though Disney's "Kiss the Girl" got extended play when everyone began whooping and singing along.  Why, yes, it was a room full of gay men and their hags.  Why do you ask?

The opening act ended and I had just enough time to run to the restroom and refill our wine glasses (at the bar, not in the restroom, in case that needed clarification) before completely missing Mika's entrance, which TJ says came from the back of the room.  Sigh.  At least I didn't miss all of the opening song.  It truly was an intimate evening, the type of event that can only be experienced in a room as small as a synagogue's sanctuary.  We were sitting directly under the dome, which is prime real estate for getting the best sound, a fact that anyone who has heard the Voices of Liberty perform at EPCOT can attest to.  It was a pretty dome, to boot!

It was an evening of hits, featuring the best from all three of Mika's studio albums.

Set List
Grace Kelly
Toy Boy
Lollipop
Blue Eyes
Billy Brown
Popular Song
Love You When I'm Drunk
Underwater
Stuck in the Middle
Emily / Elle me dit
Big Girl (You are Beautiful)
Origin of Love
Happy Ending
Lola
Relax, Take it Easy
Stardust
Celebrate
Love Today
Over My Shoulder

I was quite pleased with the set list and can't really think of anything I'd have preferred hearing over what we got.  There were a number of evening highlights, told in both song and story, but the ones that I will never forget are as follows:

"Blue Eyes" is one of my favorite songs, because I am vain and have blue eyes and naturally think it is a song about me.  I was already smiling, but hearing him sing this song live brought a glimmer of a tear to my (blue) eyes that accompanied my smile for the remainder of the show.

Mika stumbled over the chorus to "Emily," a song that is sung in both English and French on the album The Origin of Love.  He shook his head and said "I always f--k that one up.  I want to sing in French when I should be singing in English.  Do you want me to sing in French?!?"  The crowed of course cheered their approval and he happily obliged.  He transitioned back into English for chorus, and when he called out "Dance with me Emily," every tukus in the house left its seat, never to return again.

He later explained to the crowd that he had been wanting to perform "The Origin of Love" in a place just like this since the moment he recorded it.  You'd really just have to listen to the song to understand why he was right, and why it was so special to hear in a house of worship.

Toward the end of "Happy Ending," he stepped away from the microphone and sang unplugged.  It

was met with great applause and I guess the acoustics in the synagogue were better than he had anticipated, for he sang "Lola" and "Stardust" in the same manner.  The silence from the crowd was a testament to the beauty of his voice, and we have confirmed with others that have attended prior shows that he does not do this as a normal part of the act.  I've never attended a concert in which the performer was able to connect with his audience so successfully at this level.    

In a moment that was to become the emotional crux of the concert, he introduced "Relax, Take it Easy" by explaining that it was inspired by the 2005 bombing of the  London train system.  He had been traveling on the tube at the time and his train was evacuated.  He said he wrote the song as a means of coming to terms with the tragedy.  It was horrifying to learn that a song I had thought to merely be a metaphor for a doomed relationship was actually a coping mechanism for a terrorist attack.  I turned to see tears streaming down TJs face, and I knew that we had both made the connection between this and the act of terrorism that had taken the life of his colleague in Afghanistan last Saturday. 

The songs that followed touched on themes such as love, loss and recovery.  If "Relax, Take it Easy" stirred feelings for a fallen peer, the remainder of the show definitely drew a line under our own mortality.

As we left the sanctuary, happier yet strangely more distressed than we had entered into it, TJ commented that this evening had the three ingredients to a perfect concert experience:  There was wine, we had great seats, and we knew all of the songs.  I would argue that there was also a fourth key ingredient:  the ability to create an emotional response.  And Mika did that in spades.

I may as well never see another concert again because, after Wednesday night, they will all be complete and utter disappointments.  

33, Part 3: Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey: Dragons

We capped off my birthday weekend with a trip to the circus.  Yes, the circus.  Cuz that's how we roll.  It was a fun day.  Better than either of us had expected, which was amazing since TJ, assuming I like all things juvenile, suggested that we go even though he didn't want to, and I, not really wanting to go either but thinking that his suggesting it meant that HE wanted to go, said yes.

The name of the show was Dragons, and the theme was that different warring tribes have come together for a competition in which they must demonstrate Strength, Courage, Wisdom, and Heart in order to release the power of the dragon within.  Sounds like a rejected premise for Captain Planet and the Planeteers, but it really was a good setup for the circus acts that followed.

We bought the nosebleed tickets because, frankly, $65 a head seemed a tad excessive for ringside seating at a "regular" circus.   Maybe if it had been Cirque du Soleil.  Maybe.

In a much appreciated move, the doors opened an hour early for ticket holders to go ringside and view the human and animal performers up close.

We got to see an elephant paint a masterpiece and then play the harmonica...

We saw some kids learning to be Kung Fu masters...

And we got these awesome clown noses.

When the show began, we grabbed our Kleenex (for the nosebleeds) and headed up top.  Picture quality diminished, but hey, what can ya do?

Spoiler Alert:  At the show's conclusion, The Planeteers succeeded in releasing the dragon. *gasp!*

All in all, it was a wonderful conclusion to a wonderful birthday weekend.  I'd do it all again in a heartbeat.  Only, can I skip the aging part next time?  No need to rush things.

33, Part 2: Madame Tussauds, Washington D.C.

I've become quite the Groupon window shopper as of late.  It happened by accident when I found myself bored at work and perusing the app store on my iPad mini early last week.  I had never gotten into the fad because TJ always likes to tell me that the only thing cheaper than buying something you don't really need because it's on sale...is just not buying it at all.  He's got a point.  Don't tell him I said that.

TJ freezes while crossing the Delaware with General George Washington, 

then gets down to brass tacks with President John Adams.

The trouble is that between his eight + hours of Arabic class and my eight hour job plus two hour commute Monday - Friday (Oh, yeah.  I quit Arabic.  Remind me to tell you about that sometime!), we find ourselves exhausted and not eager to remove our carcasses from the couch most weekends.  Finding myself in a bit of a funk, my eyes lit up when the Groupon app popped up as a recommended download.  I resolved then and there that we would make more of an effort to enjoy our weekends...and do it on the cheap! 

I go sass-for-sass with Teddy Roosevelt, then give John Quincy Adams a peep show

...he does not look amused. 

"Um.  I don't know how to tell you this, but...um..."

Using my birthday as the perfect excuse to make my first Groupon purchase, I selected two half-off admissions to Madame Tussauds for Saturday morning.  It's something I've always wanted to do here in D.C., but TJ has been reluctant.  I visited the New York location over Thanksgiving break during my (first) senior year in college and thoroughly enjoyed myself.  I was eager to see what this branch had to offer, but, when you live in a city with free museums galore, it's kind of hard to convince someone to pay for one.  Yay, Groupon!

The plan had been to spend the morning at Madame Tussauds followed by an afternoon walking amongst the Cherry Blossoms and capped off with dinner at our favorite restaurant, Texas de Brazil, which had sent me a buy one, get one free coupon in honor of my birthday.  Look at all of that BOGOing, folks!  We should be on Extreme Couponing!

Unfortunately, the cherry blossoms hadn't bloomed yet, despite multiple websites informing me that this was supposed to be the beginning of the peak time.  Whatevs.  We'll go next weekend.  Then I realized that the coupon for Texas de Brazil was only good Sun-Fri.  Now, we could have gone and paid full price, but it's the principle of the matter, folks.  I'm gonna save that puppy for another day. 

I entered a staring competition with J. Edgar Hoover;

Meanwhile, TJ helped Bob Woodward investigate the Watergate scandal.

"I'm king of the world!"

We're adaptable guys, so adjustments were quickly made.  In the end, our day consisted of  Madame Tussauds, lunchtime appetizers and mojitos at the Hard Rock Cafe (Which I effin' LOVE, by the way.  I think that anybody that says they don't like the HRC either hasn't tasted the food or simply doesn't like the concept of such a place.  Haters.), and a delicious home cooked Italian dinner accompanied by wine and Wreck-it-Ralph.  Yeah.  I can dig it.  I thought it was a pretty awesome day, all told.

Work it, girls!

Mount Vernon

Despite being snot-deep in the middle of his second cold/flu/major-annoyance-to-me since arriving in the metro DC area in late October (darn that drastic change in weather!), TJ mustered the energy to crawl out of bed long enough for us to accompany our Guadalajara friends Craig and Jo (and their rascally son Hector), who are also stateside in preparation for their next tour with the State Department, on an excursion to historic Mount Vernon this past Sunday.

Mount Vernon was the plantation home of our nation's first president, General George Washington (1732-1799).  The estate was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960 and is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  

This was a much-anticipated outing for us, as our last stay in the Metro DC area didn't find us exploring much of the area beyond the District of Columbia.  Not that Mount Vernon, situated a mere 15 miles northwest of DC on the Potomac River, is what anybody could call very...beyond.  

Our tour of the facilities began at the Ford Orientation Center with a brief video tour of the property hosted by TV legend Pat Sajak.  It's always fun to see D-list celebs thrown into ridiculous situations, and Sajak, dressed in period garb and pretending to be jostled in a horse and buggy, doesn't disappoint.  This was followed by We Fight to Be Free, a 2006 short film that recounts Washington's most important military achievements and his courtship with Martha Dandridge Custis, the future Mrs. Washington.  I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, but the snorts and chortles I could hear from down the aisle led me to believe that TJ, perhaps, did not.  Eight-year-old Hector was more entertained, though he did almost fall out of his chair at the onset, when the announcer revealed that the film would be 18 minutes in length.  I was right there with him.  

As the crowd shuffled from the theater we made our way over to the main attraction:  The Mansion.  

Oh wait.  We stopped and saw a Christmas Camel named Aladdin first.  Now, I'm still not quite sure what a Christmas Camel is, but there was a plaque that explained how Washington enjoyed seeing exotic animals and paid 18 shillings to bring a camel to Mount Vernon in 1787.  I think that's something in the ballpark of  ninety cents, making him a sucker.  The National Zoo has free admission and lots more than just camels.  Of course, that didn't open for another 102 years, but whatever.   Anyway, Aladdin will be on display until January 6th, so plan accordingly, folks.   

Our next stop was the mansion, which is allegedly depicted as it was in 1799, based on an inventory conducted upon Washington's death.  

Photography is not allowed inside, which is always a sticking point for me.  How in the world am I ever supposed to remember what something looks like if I can neither take a picture of it nor be bothered to open my laptop and blog about it until three days after the fact?  I'm just going to steal a quote from the website:  "The Mansion features original furnishings, items owned by the Washington family, 18th-century objects, and a small number of reproductions.  Vibrant wall colors, reconstructed after careful paint analysis, demonstrate the Washingtons' wealth and sense of fashion."  Tour guides were stationed throughout the house, and through them we learned that the last room in the house to be finished was the dining/entertaining room, which features intricate wall art to represent Washington the farmer, not Washington the general.  We learned that Martha decorated their master bedroom, an uncommon occurrence during the period which was likely permitted because she used the space as her private office during the day.  We learned that Martha vacated the bedroom and relocated to a room in the attic upon her husband's death.  Oh!  That reminds me:  We got to tour the attic, a treat reserved for the holiday season.  Like the camel, I guess.  

Surrounding the house are a variety of structures like the restrooms (both public and historic), the kitchen, the storage facilities, carriage houses and the (eek!) slaves' quarters, all set up in your standard museum/take-a-peek-at-an-authentic-room-of-the-times fashion  Two building that feature staff presentations are the Blacksmith Shop and the Greenhouse, though both were inconveniently closed for lunch as we passed through.  You'd think they would stagger breaks like at Disney World, but whatevs.  Near as I can tell, the "blacksmith" pretends to make things and the Greenhouse is only used for guest interactions with people dressed up in period attire.  That's sort of odd, given that this wintery time of year presents a golden opportunity to showcase the benefits of a greenhouse.  I mean, seriously.  Look at the dead garden outside the greenhouse.

Next up was Cobbler, the National Thanksgiving Turkey.  This one makes more sense than the camel.  Cobbler was this year's recipient of the famed (and coveted, in turkey circles) presidential turkey pardon .  Cobbler is very protective of his friend Gobbler, and was none to happy about our sstopping to take photos.  The pair will be on display until January 6th, at which point they will move into a custom-made pen at Mount Vernon's livestock facility.  

We then meandered through the gardens of the estate, making our way to Washington's Tomb (site &  materials specified in his will) and the Slave Memorial (designed by students at Howard University).

The remainder of our day was spent walking the trails, where a humorous sign that began "Species Washington Didn't See" in an attempt to explain animal migration instead had me imagining unicorns and dragons, and visiting the museum, where we saw the lower half of Washington's famous wooden teeth and bitterly wondered where the top half ran off to.  An exhibit entitled Hoecakes & Hospitality:  Cooking with Martha Washington provided several recipes that we are dying to try at home, including one for an alcoholic beverage called the Cherry Bounce that Craig and Jo enjoyed over lunch.  The taste I managed to sneak was divine.  Speaking of lunch, The Mount Vernon Inn Restaurant provided us with the most delicious meal I have had since being back in the states.  TJ and I shared a bowl of Virginia Peanut & Chestnut Soup, followed by a Meat & Potato Pye for him and a a Duck and Sausage Cassoulet for me...followed by a shared helping of Homemade Bread Pudding.  My lack of food reviewer training prevents me from describing just how savory this meal was.  Suffice it to say, we will be going back next month, when out-of-town visitors provide an excuse for a return visit. 

I'm super excited for this return visit, as my camera died shortly after visiting the tomb and memorial.  I discovered early in the day that my camera battery was low.  Hector wanted to take a picture of a squirrel he saw climbing a tree along the bank of the Potomac, then proceeded to take fifteen (Seriously.  Fifteen.)  photos of various animals' derrieres.  Here's his best one:

TJ's cold had started flaring back up around lunchtime, and after that meal we were all exhausted anyway, so we decided to call it a day.  All in all, it was our most enjoyable excursion since returning to the states and a great start to the many tales I plan on recounting over the next eight months!

Last Visitor of the Year

This past week we had the immense pleasure of hosting our friend and former roommate as he made his first ever trip to Washington, D.C.

In the eight months that we have lived in Falls Church, no fewer than eight visitors have graced us with their presence. While the itinerary for this trip wasn't much different than any of the others, the experience itself was completely different.

I'm the type that always feels the need to entertain company. I don't know how to relax when I'm on vacation, and I don't tolerate it in those that take a vacation to come visit me. I feel like I have completely failed in my duties as cruise director if we spend even one moment relaxing and watching television. And since nobody likes to go-go-go ALL the time, I often feel like I have failed my visitors, even when they have had a completely fabulous time.

This time was different, though, and I attribute that to the fact that we lived with Kris for almost 5 (or was it 6?) years...we've always spent a ton of time just relaxing on the couch and watching television. Don't get me wrong, I still went totally crazy and demanded that we go do stuff, but when nobody found that appealing, I found myself accepting the television as sufficient entertainment. And it was kinda nice. Because we have spent so much time just being around each other in the past, we were able to just be around each other now. When other people visit, we always feel the need to take them out to fun new restaurants and bars. With Kris, it was ok to just cook at home some nights. While we would otherwise feel obligated to visit museum after monument after museum, with Kris we were able to visit monument after shopping mall after museum after Target.

Don't get me wrong, I love it when my friends come to visit. I love showing people around. But your friends only see you the way that you want to portray yourself in public. With your friends, you always want to impress them. To show them how awesome life is. A roommate? A roommate sees you every which way. And a good roommate will stick around for 5 (or was it 6?) years despite that. And because you spend so much time with a roommate, you don't have to put on airs. You don't have to try so hard to impress him. You can just enjoy each other's company.