Abandon News, All Ye Who Enter Here

Sign above the entryway to "The Daily Show"

Last night Eric and I went to a taping of "The Daily Show" and had a great time! We had reserved tickets online, but that doesn't necessarily mean you actually get to go to the show. They overbook every show to make sure all seats are filled, so you still have to get there early and wait in line to try to get an official ticket into the studio. They start letting people in around 5:00p.m. I got there at 3:40, and already there was a huge line and I was nervous we might not make it in. We did (obviously), but not many people behind us did. Eric met me there around 4:00, so I didn't have to wait the whole time by myself. They do have a rule that after 4:30, your friends can't join you in line anymore. If they show up after 4:30, to the back of the line they shall go.

It was probably around 5:30 that we actually got into the building and went through security. Then they led us into the studio and directed us to our seats. We sat and waited for a bit longer, then they had a guy who referred to himself as the "warm-up chimp" come out to get the crowd excited. He did a little funny banter with some audience members and then got everyone on their feet, cheering and ready to go before Jon Stewart came out.

Jon Stewart is short. We looked it up online, and apparently he's 5' 6.5" or 5'7"-ish. That's about my height, for frame of reference! He did a quick Q&A with the crowd, during which we learned that (in Jon's opinion): now that Barack Obama is going to be president, black people will start being afraid of white people in elevators instead of the current vice versa; Republicans are people too; and people let journalists get away with not caring because we have jobs and don't have the time to make them care. Very educational.

Watching the actual show was fun too. Although it did take a little bit of the magic out of it, to see the jokes all written on the teleprompters, but Jon's delivery is great so it's very funny regardless. It really was a very fun experience. I wish they would've let us take pictures of the set or something before the show began at least, but they made everyone turn off all cell phones and pack away cameras as soon as you entered the building. So, you'll have to make do with this shot of (a very cold) me outside the studio after the show:

If you want to watch the episode that we saw, click here to watch it on The Daily Show website. Listen closely...maybe you can hear us laughing!

In other news, we had a very nice, albeit quiet, celebration for Eric's birthday. When he got home from work I made him dinner, although it wasn't the dinner I had planned. I wanted to make him a chicken teriyaki thing that he likes, but our tiny grocery store didn't carry the supplies. So, it was chicken and broccoli alfredo instead. I also had a yellow cake with chocolate frosting and a Mountain Dew toast waiting for him. He opened his cards and his gift from me (a mini Gators football helmet for his office, and a Rays mini helmet on the way) and blew out his candles. Very mellow, but very nice. I hope he enjoyed his birthday!

The makings of Eric's birthday celebration: gift, card, Mountain Dew toast, and cake decorated with orange and blue!
(please excuse the crazy bent Advent candle on the left. Not sure what happened there.)

Next up in our New York lives: the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting tonight!