Laundry and the Tonys

I have TWO major news items to share, and you can decide which is more exciting:

1. Today I did laundry.

2. Yesterday I watched the live broadcast of the Tony Awards from a front-row seat in Times Square. I also shook hands with Senator Harry Reid and Elder L. Tom Perry.

Let me guess: You want to hear about News Item 1? I thought so. (You chose well; this story involves wet towels, a lonesome quarter, and getting stuck in a tiny elevator with both.)

NEWS ITEM 1: This morning, for the first time in my personal New York history, I actually washed my clothes in a washer rather than in a sink!

(You may clap.)

Before you judge me harshly, let me point out that EACH load of laundry here costs $2.00. That's eight quarters. EIGHT. I've been saving my change (heart sinking whenever someone hands me two dimes and a nickel instead of a quarter) and scanning the sidewalks of New York for two weeks. . .and today I finally had enough quarters to pay for one whole load in the washer! (In order to make it all the way to eight, I did buy two packs of vending machine popcorn that I really didn't need, but the sacrifice was worth it.)

When the cycle had finished, I pulled out my plus-sized load of sheets, towels, and clothes and piled everything triumphantly in my arms. Then, using my superhuman powers of balancing, shifting, and hopping, I made it down the hall, through a swinging door, and onto the elevator. (Think the finicky old 20's elevator from "Thoroughly Modern Millie" here.)

Imagine my distress when, after pushing the "Floor 3" button, the grate slammed shut but the elevator refused to move! I pushed the button again, and this time, the elevator shuddered and let out a horrible groan of distress. At this point, I let out my OWN groan of distress, dropped all the wet laundry on the floor, and forced the grate and the door back open. After getting myself and all my laundry off the elevator and up three flights of stairs, I did finally make it back to my room. Every desk, bookshelf, and chair is now draped, top to bottom, in wet laundry. (I didn't have enough money left over for the dryer. All I had was one last, lonesome quarter. . .)

NEWS ITEM 2: Yesterday, I watched the Tonys in Times Square and met Elder L. Tom Perry and Senator Harry Reid (not in Times Square and not at the Tonys).

At first, I wasn't even planning on watching the Tonys. I'd spent the entire afternoon at a wonderful, spiritually-rejuvinating Young Single Adult Conference at the Lincoln Center church. The meetinghouse had been packed; nearly 1,000 Mormons showed up to hear apostles L. Tom Perry and Quentin L. Cook speak on the topic "We Believe the Bible." Senator Harry Reid also gave a wonderful talk about consecration, and afterwards, I just happened to bump into him. Extending my hand, I thanked him for his talk. Then I turned and saw Elder Perry chatting congenially with a group of missionaries. I inserted myself into the group (after all, I used to be a missionary!) and offered my hand to him as well. When he shook it in his hearty way, I was about as star-struck as an LDS girl could be. Well-known politician: Check! Member of the quorum of the twelve apostles: Double check!

I should also mention that, at the conference the day before (it was a three-day affair), I unexpectedly ran into a Ukrainian girl that I'd known during my time as a missionary in Donetsk. We were thrilled to see each other and spent the rest of the afternoon catching up. I also met another girl from Kiev (I can't believe how many Russian-speakers I've come across lately!), and the three of us ran around the city with fix or six other YSA's, trying to complete the requirements for a photo scavenger hunt. We became very creative towards the end: A red collar passed as a pink collar (red is a shade of pink, right?), a snow globe became a Christmas decoration, and a covered motorcycle became a Harley Davidson (well, it could have been). We did stop an actual bride and groom just as they were stepping into a car after their ceremony so that we could get a picture with them. We felt very successful. . .until we realized that we hadn't even placed in the competition. (Had there been a prize for creativity, we totally would have won!)

Although the skies had been threatening rain all day, nothing actually fell during our scavenger hunt. So when I looked online and discovered that I'd won free tickets (again!) to Shakespeare in the Park, I grabbed one of my new friends from the conference, and the two of us went to the performance together. Within an hour of arriving, Shakespeare in the Park became Shakespeare in the Rain. During the first act of the show, a light mist started to descend. By the second act, we were sitting in a steady downpour. I had neither umbrella nor jacket, but because the actors onstage were sticking it out (one even dropped to the stage and started making rain angels in the water!), we decided to stick it out too. When I got home that night (just before curfew!), I was drenched and freezing. The show was worth it, though; I'd enjoyed All's Well That Ends Well even more than I'd enjoyed Measure for Measure. I'll have to go see it again sometime when it's not raining!

And now back to our feature presentation: The Tonys. :-) As I said earlier, I wasn't originally planning on watching the Tonys. I'd had a full day at church, and I was ready to just relax. Then I thought to myself, "You are literally BLOCKS from Times Square, Erica, and if you don't hop down there RIGHT NOW while the Tonys are in your backyard, you will never forgive yourself." So I went. And it was fabulous! They had rows of chairs set in front of a giant screen just a few blocks from the tower, and I was able to slip into a prime spot. The excitement in the square was palpable. "Better than actually being at the Tonys, isn't it?" asked the announcer. It probably was.

For those who haven't heard, here's a quick recap of some of the major wins:

1. Best Musical: The Book of Mormon (The show also took best book and score, winning 9 Tonys in all. Last night must've held the record for the number of times the words "The Book of Mormon" were spoken on national television within the space of a couple hours. I don't endorse the musical, but--hey!--they say that any publicity is good publicity!)

2. Best Leading Actress in a Musical: Sutton Foster in Anything Goes (Her acceptance speech was so sweet and heartfelt. Can't wait to see her perform this Saturday!)

3. Best Leading Actor in a Musical: Norbert Leo Butz in Catch Me If You Can

4. Best Revival of a Musical: Anything Goes (I've got my ticket!)

5. Best Featured Actor in a Musical: John Laroquette in How to Succeed in Business

(I met him when I saw the show earlier and have his autograph on my program. Woot, woot!)

6. Best Play: War Horse (This show is next on my must-see list.)

And that's that. Now, really, weren't the Tonys a bit of a let-down after my laundry story?