Friday, November 25, 2005

We gather together...



Happy Thanksgiving! This might be a doozy of an entry, but I'll do my best. :o)



I never did end up finding Ryan and Jeana for the parade--I was about two blocks up from where they were, but by the time I got that close, the parade was starting, and I couldn't get across enough streets to find them. So, I watched the parade by myself. Still fun, though. I started about 4 people back from the curb, and kind of got pushed to the second-ish row, so my view wasn't too bad (plus, it's pretty easy to see those balloons from anywhere!).

Let's see. Comparisons to the Stampede parade? No lawn chairs--that's not the way parades in NYC are done. I did, however, see lots of kids sitting on mailboxes and newspaper boxes, a few people brought ladders to stand on, and there were even a few people who climbed up on top of a bus stop. That's one way to get a view! No Froot Loops. No sunburn. I was about half and half for the marching bands...



Half of them weren't playing while they were in front of me...



... and half of them were. My dad figures that every parade is jinxed so that the bands always stop a half-block away from wherever we're sitting.



The funniest thing (to me) was that the parade would come to a complete stop every 10 minutes or so, for about 3 or 4 minutes. Just... stop. Commercial breaks, apparently. It's never been quite that obvious to me during the Stampede Parade, if they stop it for commercials, but I guess this is a much more "must-see TV" event.



(Aaron, that one was just for you)

The parade progresses from Thanksgiving to Christmas, in terms of the float themes--the first one is the big turkey, and the last one is Santa Claus--but unfortunately, my camera battery died three-quarters of the way through the parade, so I didn't get any pictures of the Christmas segment.



Still. Where else can you see Big Bird, Charlie Brown, Dora the Explorer, the NYPD marching band, Brian McKnight (the woman beside me was ecstatic when she saw him on one of the floats--apparently her wedding song was one of his), Olympic medalists, Spongebob Squarepants, and Barney (with a blown-out foot) all in the same place?



After the parade, I had most of the afternoon to kill before heading to Queens for dinner, so I decided to see a movie (which actually caused much debate at dinner when it was discovered that I seem to lack that innate human fear to appear alone in a movie theatre). I saw RENT, and believe me, that warrants its own entry. It was absolutely fantastic, and I'll post a review elsewhere later, and those of who have seen it can compare notes with me. :o) Seriously, such a fantastic movie.

Then, it was out to Astoria to Matt's house (one of the guys in my small group) for Thanksgiving dinner with a bunch of people from church. Matt, Tim, Sarita, and Nick and Amy all live out there, and Amy cooked a fantastic dinner... we played Mafia (which I haven't played since about first year drama troupe! Ah, the memories), ate way too much dessert, and I found a kindred spirit in my Friends fanaticism in Nick. They have seasons 8, 9, and 10 (the only ones I'm still missing), so I have a standing invitation now to go watch Friends anytime I want. Good night. Good friends, and it was a good time with people that I'm still just getting to know.

It was very late when I came home, but I didn't have to set an alarm--I had the Lourenzo-mobile in my room to wake me up. He didn't come barging in until 8:30, though, so that's better than sometimes!

And, that was my day. Parades, RENT, Mafia. Just about sums it up. More on today's thoughts and events later.



Can I end with something cheesy (and picture-appropriate) like "Happy Thanksgiving from The Big Apple"?

Too late. I did it anyways (insert your own pink-overalled inflection to that comment here).

posted by Alida at 6:00 PM
7 comments

7 Comments:
Anonymous Anonymous said...

That parade looks fun! Glad to hear you are having a fun time with new friends and everything. That is awesome. :)

~linds~

10:04 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Pink overalled?? I must be missing something! Glad you had a good day--good to talk to you at the end of it.

Love,
Mom

6:36 PM  
Blogger Alida said...

Think, "Too late, I already pushed it!" and the pink overalls that go with it. You, of all people, should get the pink overall reference!

9:21 PM  
Blogger Esther said...

Hahaha...I even got that! mom must be slacking in the memory department. I laughed as soon as I saw it and thought, "I gotta go see what mom commented on that." Disappointing!

Esther

7:30 PM  
Blogger Alida said...

I think she's going senile in her old age.

7:44 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Okay, I got it. "Too late--I already said it!" Sometimes your inside jokes are just too obscure!!

Mom

11:57 AM  
Blogger Alida said...

"Too late--I already pushed it." You really are going senile in your old age!

7:00 PM  

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