interns & special guests

Sleeping and waking up:

Had a nice sleep in the bed that was assembled on the floor for me. A very nice makeshift bed! I woke up before my alarm, however begrudgingly.

Tea and debit card:

I made a pot of tea and set about calling Kitsap Credit Union to see what is up with my card. I managed to get it reactivated for the weekend! I lounged about while other people we getting up. Ariel went out for some food with her Dad and Mom.

Pizza:

After I showered, but before I smeared makeup on my face I walked down to Pizza of Venice, at Adele's recommendation. I asked the lady to test my card before they made my pizza, and it worked! I ordered the "el diablo" but mild. I also got a soda. I enjoyed that soda and pizza very much! And I read from my Kindle. It was so warm and lovely. Just amazing January weather.

Prep:

I shoved a bunch of makeup on my face, and in what felt like record time to do: eyebrows, eyeshadow, blush, lipstick, eyeliner, and mascara. Ariel returned. We got our Welcome to Night Vale ensembles together. Lots of purple.

But first, second lunch:

We four (Me, Ariel, Rich, Adele) had set up to meet Ariel's aunt Claire for lunch downtown. Of course downtown LA is MASSIVE. And as it is massive and not actually "downtown" in any small place, Ariel made a reservation at a restaurant that isn't anywhere near the theater. By accident due to multiple restaurants having the same name. Whoops, easy mistake! So we got caught in traffic cutting down into LA, through Beverly Hills, and into wherever. Arriving late and pressed for time, we just had some appetizers and tea. It was nice though, if quick.

Largo:

And traffic was very easy on the way back! Not a lot of stop and go and slow. We got to the theater and there was a line, so we probably wouldn't be getting the coveted front row seats. Still! Awesome! Rich navigated parking and we secured a spot in line. The theater was the Largo at the Coronet. That is where they perform and record Thrilling Adventure Hour. It was a nice night for standing in line for an hour and a half. Good conversation was had. Lots of people were dressed up or they made things. Things that would take a lot of explaining to make sense of in this blog if you hadn't listened to the Welcome to Night Vale podcast. Either way, it was great.

F:

We got through the line, got our seat assignment, and then were told to come back at 7ish for when the gate would be open. We were all in row F. The auditorium fit about 120 people? So there wouldn't really be ANY bad seat. I went for a little walk by myself while waiting to be let in. Just down the street a bit. LA is so big and sprawled and so much visual information! But it just has that feeling of lots of stuff going on. I can dig it. But I also dig being able to drive around town in less than 20 minutes. I returned to the theater and we all went in!

Black and Tan:

I bought a black and tan at the little bar inside the theater, and also a poster for the tour. We were all very, very excited. Just buzzing and going EEEEEE.

Welcome to Night Vale:

How do I begin? The story was amazing. Just this whole extended episode thing. The show opened with a few performances by Jason Webley, who was great. He had an accordion and played it oh so well. And sang so heartily. He didn't even need the microphone, such was the acoustics and size of the theater. Then Meg introduced Cecil, and Cecil was just amazing. His voice is so rich and he can do so many things with it, but his posture and mannerisms! Wow! JASIKA NICOLE was THEREEE!! To play Dana. I was just in awe and so stoked and happy and like WAHHHH about her generally being on stage not too far from me. And. And. There was an Intern Wil. Played by Wil Wheaton. Which was a MAJOR surprise and the audience just went like WOOAAAHHH. The audience was very vocal and cheered and went aww, but at all the right moments. And even sang along a bit. Very great experience. Oh and they had the new Carlos voice actor. And more music by Webley. And just. The whole thing was this amazing experience. So worth the trip down. Would do it again in a hot minute.

Fink:

I managed to have my poster signed by Joseph Fink, the creator of the show! And I told him that I came down from Santa Cruz and it was worth it and I'd do it again. He was really nice.

Food:

We drove downtown a bit and parked and then had a helluva time walking out of the parking garage. We ended up going to P.F. Chang's for dinner and enthusiastic post-show chatter. Our waiter had great hair. We gobbled down entrees, and we three ladies had cocktails (Rich was the driver). And I was like "lets order dessert" and we ordered dessert and gobbled that. And everything was amazing and delicious and fun. And the sketches I produced in the dark of the auditorium during the show turned out pretty good! Can't wait to scan them.

Pasadena (or wherever, it might not actually be Pasadena):

It was a nice drive back. I washed my face. I miss my drawn on eyebrows all ready. It changes the way I feel about myself in public. Like I'm visually more of a dynamic figure in space. I feel like less of a wallflower when I'm all done or. Or less like I ought to be a wallflower. Like BAM HERE I AM, let's talk about stuff! I have photos to upload. Drawings to scan. And a longish drive to undertake tomorrow. But it's all good.

It's all very good.