Has it really been less than a week?

So, to recap the last week, it's been busier even than normal for us!

Sunday we headed into the city and went to the American Museum of Natural History to use our Space tickets we'd gotten when we signed up for our membership. Nothing like waiting until the last minute to use them, they expire Dec. 4th! Then we met up with our friends Tina and Neal for the real reason for the trip into the city: a talk and signing by Neil Gaiman! We went out to dinner first at a little italian place that turned out to be pretty good. My pasta was excellent, Tina and Neal's pizza was fantastic and we all wanted to steal some of Brian's lasagna... Then off to the talk! I've never been to something like this so I didn't really know what to expect. We had fabulous seats. Third row back and in the center, and although we bought them separately online using the "best available" option, we ended up right next to each other! The talk was awesome and very entertaining. The host (Chip Kidd) was fabulous at his job. He kept it moving and convinced Neil Gaiman to tell some absolutely fabulous stories. Then it was into the signing line. And the real flaw of the organization came through. The signing line started from the rear of the auditorium. Meaning those of us who were great fans and bought our tickets early were stuck at the end of the line. Grrr! We ended up sending Brian home early to catch an earlier train since he had to work early in the morning. But eventually we got to our turn to get things signed, and neither Tina nor I turned into babbling fangirl idiots. I consider that a success! The least said about my train ride home, the better... Overall it was a fabulous day and great experience. I'm very glad we went.

Wednesday was to be my second author talk/signing. Yes, two in one week! Jaime Oliver was going to be at our local Barnes and Noble! This one, sadly, wasn't nearly as good. The tickets were being handed out starting at 4pm. Brian was awesome and traded shifts to get there in time to get tickets for me and Michelle, who was going to come with me. And again, we had fabulous seats. Brian got us tickets number 4 and 5! Unfortunatley, Michelle got sick at work that afternoon and ended up going home and not coming to the signing. It sounds like it was a very nasty bug, so I'm happy she went and took care of herself. Now, where NG's signing was well organized and run, this was the opposite. Whoever does the scheduling for Jamie Oliver thought it would be no problem to get out here from Manhattan in 75 minutes during peak rush hour. Doh! He ended up arriving a little past 8, and because he was running so late, they cancelled the talk portion of the evening, and the autographs were restricted to just autographs. Not even personalized ones like we got from NG. I'm very glad we'd been to that one first so I saw how positive an experience it could be. This one would have sworn me off them otherwise.

Then last night (Friday), Brian got one of his Christmas presents early. I had to give it to him early, since it was tickets to a show, and they would have been useless if I'd waited! We went and saw the Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood show! We saw them a couple of years ago and had a fantastic time of it, so I was really pleased to see they were coming back this way and the tickets were more than affordable. Being Mr. Uncurious that he is, he's known there were tickets that were a gift for him on the bulletin board in an opened envelope for almost 2 months now and had no desire to peak at what they were! No way would I have managed that feat! The show was as phenomenal as we remembered and we both had a great time. We laughed until it hurt and then kept laughing some more! It's all improv comedy, mostly loosely based on games from shows like "Whose Line is it Anyways?". I can't recommend it highly enough!

Then this morning I went back to the dentist again. This time to get the permanent crown put in on the tooth I had the root canal done. It went really well, much better than I had any expectation of. It's never pleasant, but it didn't hurt, and now I should not have any further problems with that tooth. And the problem I'd developed with the other teeth being super sensitive to cold was caused by my "overbrushing". I've got a paste that should help, and am told to brush gentler and it will go much better. This afternoon, since I'm doing much better, we're going out to see Quantum of Solace. We both really want to go see Becky's Choir concert tonight in Mineola, but we're playing it by ear on how I'm feeling. Keep your fingers crossed!