The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon!

 A few days ago I got the chance to be in the audience for the Tonight Show here in New York, so I thought I'd write about my experience!

For those of you that don't know, anyone (16+ I think) can try to win tickets to see the show. If you "like" their Facebook page or follow the show on Twitter, they post once a month the date and time they'll be giving out tickets for the next month. So on that specific date back in June, Evan and I each had our laptops open to the webpage, waiting for it to refresh to the ticket website.  Evan's appeared first, but every date he clicked on said it was sold out, and after a few minutes he gave up. My screen appeared a little later and a similar thing happened to me. But I just kept clicking.  Then one magically became available! The only option was for 1 ticket, and I clicked at lightning speed and the next page said....CONGRATULATIONS! I had successfully won a free ticket to the Tonight Show for July 31st! Sorry, Evan.... So I guess if you're planning a trip to NYC, try your luck a month ahead of time to get tickets (again, only on the specific date/time that they announce).

My ticket information said that my seat wasn't guaranteed, as they purposely over-sell tickets, so I didn't want to announce my excitement out of fear that I'd jinx myself. It also mentioned a suggested time to pick up my ticket on the day of the taping. I decided to look on Yelp to read reviews from people who had been to the show, and most of them said to get there around 2:30pm to retrieve tickets. On the day of the blessed event I showed up at the NBC Experience store (at Rockefeller Center) around 2:35pm, and ended up waiting in line for probably about 15-20 minutes. As I had learned on Yelp, the Pages issue tickets with either letters or numbers on them. Numbered tickets usually sit farther back, and tend to be older people (in all honesty). They make sure to have a young crowd at the front of the audience (with lettered tickets). I got the letter P, and noticed that they ran out of tickets soon after I got mine...lucky break! They also give you a wristband and little chocolate, while issuing further instructions.

I had almost an hour before I needed to head back and line up in front of the Tumi luggage store, so I grabbed a coffee nearby.  Now here's the tricky part. I headed for the luggage store 5 minutes before my instructed time and no one was there. Eventually 3 other people showed up waiting around as well. We all decided to check inside the building, and realized that all of the stores around Rockefeller Center also have entrances from inside the building. That was the entrance they meant--not the entrance outside in the plaza. Thank goodness we found that in time, or I might have completely missed the show! But really. He should have specified, since there are technically 2 entrances.

So then I waited in another line, this time grouped up by letters and then numbers. They announced absolutely no cell phones were allowed out once we got to the studio, so I wasn't able to get any fun pictures once inside. We entered the studio group by group (in my case--a lovely group of 1), and I was seated in the 5th row... almost on the aisle (oh, to get high-fived by Jimmy). The first 4 rows actually get blocked by all the cameras and people moving around the set during filming, so I was lucky to be just one row higher. Also, it was  freezing in the studio (understandably), just fyi. While everyone was getting seated, they played some clips from his past shows up on the tv monitors to keep us entertained. And then a guy came in and "warmed us up," reminding us that there is no laugh track, so it's all up to us.

Soon the band came out (each member introduced, how nice), and they played a song before the show actually started. And then around 5pm it was time for Jimmy! The set is much smaller than it probably seems on tv. His desk is very short, and then there's the middle strip where the curtain hangs in the back, and furthest on the right is the band. We of course all stood up and cheered when Jimmy came through the curtain, and he said we were a good crowd (watch it! it's right at the beginning. we're all so special). Apparently the audience from the night before were kind of duds...LOSERS!

So our guests were Julia Roberts(!!), Andy Cohen, and comedy from Ron Funches. Julia was fabulous and sweet of course, and it really felt like she was including us in their "interview." You can see her look to the audience for our opinion (like when she talked about dads' roles with newborn babies) a few times. The rest of the show kind of explains itself if you watched the episode. And Jimmy was great. He really just seems so happy to have this show, and he has so much fun with everyone. Whenever they stopped for commercial breaks the band usually played, so it made that time go by pretty quickly (much better than being stuck at home watching commercials!).

Once the show ended, Jimmy ran up and down the aisle giving high-fives while we all cheered. When the taping finished, he waved to everyone and then headed off set. The time flew by! Then we waited while they had us exit one row at a time, and the guy from earlier came out to entertain us.

And that was it! Definitely a really cool experience for free! It just takes some time and dedication on that one special ticket day. You gotta act fast!

Well, this ended up kind of being a long post...whoopsies!

endings in Alaska

I haven't written on here in a while, woops. I go home this Sunday! It's crazy!!! We've been on this ship forever, but this last week has definitely been a busy one. I already have one suitcase packed, and I'm working on my other suitcase each day. We also have to get things ready from our shows for the next cast. We had our last Love Broadway show a few nights ago, and it went really well. It helps when the audience is good, too. Tonight we have our last Southern Nights show, and then we have a show the night before we leave. Still don't have flight information, but I'm just expecting to have a million connecting flights and spend my day in airports and planes.

I went whale watching last week in Juneau, and saw lots of whales pretty close! I also saw a ton of sea lions and 2 bald eagles, and got a lot of pictures. In Haines yesterday I took a 4x4 up a mountain and got to eat a yummy fish dinner. And I also took a million photos there as well. Alaska has been beautiful, especially with all the mountains, but it will definitely be nice to head back home and see all the family and friends I've been missing for nearly a year! I have a handful of trips to take this summer, and I can't wait!

Spring, spring, spring!

Spring means it's the last season to go through while I'm on the ship! We now officially have just under 2 months left, and we're all counting down the days. Gotta finish this Mexico cruise, one more long Hawaii cruise, and then a month in Alaska and we head home from Vancouver! I'm sure it will be the longest day, waiting to get home with who knows how many connecting flights and delays and whatnot. But it will be here soon enough!

In the meantime, I'm just trying to find activities and little things to look forward to for each cruise, especially now that Eric left. I went snorkeling for the first time in Cabo San Lucas, and it was so much fun! We took an hour-long boat ride and seals were everywhere. Then we got to see a few whales pretty close as we headed to Santa Maria cove. The fish were so close when I went snorkeling, and I got some fun pictures (but no sea turtles, boo). And when I was swimming back to the boat I got stung by a little jellyfish; it just felt like a bee sting though. Then they served us a light lunch (including chips and guac, yuuuum) and drinks. At the end of the excursion the driver of the boat gave me his business card and asked if we'd be back in Cabo again and if I was married. Those Mexican men love me, ha.

Today I got a swedish massage on the ship, and that was about as busy as my day got...pretty nice. Other than that, we're just trying to make plans for the different ports for our last time in Hawaii. Hoping to see Pearl Harbor and maybe some sea turtles. And there are whale-watching, hiking, and dog-sled excursions in Alaska, so we'll see what we can do. And of course I'm trying to get things together to send home a few packages, because I have accumulated so much stuff here! It'll be funny because I've been living with warm weather for so long, but now that it's starting to get warmer for everyone else, I'll be heading to Alaska in a little bit where I have to wear sweatshirts and coats! Hopefully it won't be too cold.

Alright, peace, love, and hugs!

Times are a'Changing

Well, the tsunami was so ineffective to our ship that I slept right through the "big wave" we hit at 7am, and that was the worst of it. Thankfully we were in the middle of the Pacific, which was the safest place to be in that situation.

With the start of yet another cruise to Hawaii brings some changes on board. We have the replacement Cruise Director training now with our current one, and she will take over next cruise. That will definitely be a big change, first of all because she's new, but mostly because that means my man leaves. :( And the fact that Eric gets to go home makes me want to go home sooner, too! Is it June yet? Just a few more months....

We're also getting a new entertainment department: stage crew. Usually the stage crew consists of workers from all sorts of departments like engineering, cabin stewards, etc. Now, however, it's a department fully devoted to all things dealing with entertainment on the ship, so that's exciting. But it also means we will be having more dress rehearsals this cruise to help the new staff practice.

There are also lots of birthdays this cruise, so it will be filled with many celebrations! The Coast Guard is coming to inspect the ship when we get to Honolulu, so we've been having a lot of drills in preparation. There are many scary questions they could ask us on the spot! (last time they came onto our ship I passed with flying colors. He asked me how to get to lifeboat 22 and I told him we don't have a lifeboat 22; it was a trick question! bwaha)

That's pretty much my update. Many changes ahead, and 13 weeks to go! I hope the weather is getting nicer for you folks back on land!

Long Time Gone

Nine and a half months is a long contract. We're into our sixth month, but it kind of only feels like it's halfway. It will be really nice to finally go home and get a break from the sea in June.

This cruise has been somewhat eventful. Gina's mom and her boyfriend just cruised and got to meet the cast, so that was fun! We got to go to dinner, and it was so encouraging to hear her mom cheering loud and proud in the audience for our shows.

However, I feel like there's not as much to look forward to with these Mexico cruises compared to Hawaii. You can find lots of flea markets and bars, that's for sure. Though I did eat some amaaaazing and delicious fresh guacamole and chips in Mazatlan, so that was pretty awesome. I also met some very friendly passengers, and even a few from Chicago in Lincoln Park. Anyway, for the most part, Eric and I pretty much watched about two and a half seasons of The Office this last cruise, which is a great money-saving activity!

I also found out I had to move rooms two days in advance. I guess they are re-arranging room assignments on the ships, so my male lead and I had to move rooms down the hall and around the corner. My room feels isolated, though, because it's the only room in a small hall between two doors, so those doors have to be opened if I want to see any form of life. It's also right next to the gangway, so I will get to hear the goings on every time we arrive at a different port....yaaaaay. However, instead of bunk beds like my last room, I get just one big bed, and the room itself is bigger (but the bathroom is smaller, lame). Also, I had to move in this morning by 8am, but the temporary key they gave me didn't work, and the office that takes care of that was closed today. So you can imagine a very happy Kelli at 7 in the morning ready to move with no way of getting into the new room...I've had a grumpy couple of days.

Eric also leaves the ship in just over a month, so I've already started to get sad about that. :(

At least we have more episodes of The Office and Modern Family to look forward to watching this cruise! It's the little things that count. :)

Hope people are staying warm.

2011

So, Christmas on the ship was actually pretty good! It helped to have decorations, performances, and presents to look forward to. The cast and a handful of crew members took part in a Christmas Choir performance on Christmas Eve. Then I helped welcome Santa to the ship the next morning by singing some more carols on the stage with another singer and the band. Our cast did Secret Santa and we got to eat a nice dinner together. Eric and I had an awesome Christmas tree and personalized stockings and some other decorations, so that was also exciting! And I got a number of packages and cards sent to the ship, which is always a nice surprise. I was still a little bummed that I couldn’t be home to celebrate the holidays, but I got to skype with my family which is probably the next best thing.

Just about a week later my parents and our family friends came on board to cruise! I bought my mom a sparkle hat to match mine. There never fails to be at least one sparkle hat sighting per cruise since I have started. Usually I see a good 3 or 4 sparkle hats each cruise. It must be a cool old lady thing. AND my mom got asked where she got her sparkle hat from about 4 different ladies during the cruise! It’s a hot commodity, I’m tellin’ you. Having my parents on board was a lot of fun. I got to eat in the nice dining rooms with them most nights (there is usually a limited dinner selection for crew), and we played around in the shops and other places on the ship. They of course went to all of my shows, and I think they enjoyed them. :) Mom and I each bought a pretty ring from different Mexico ports and I got a pretty watch on the ship. We also went ziplining in Mazatlan and horseback riding in Puerto Vallarta! I have many pictures to add to facebook from all of these adventures. It was also pretty hilarious to watch my mom and Suzanna play against Eric in the Crew vs. Passengers water volleyball game....obviously the crew won, ha.

Of course it was sad to see them go in San Diego, and now it’s back to regular ship life. Things are pretty much the same as usual: visiting different ports, laying out in the sun, performing, watching important tv shows like How I Met Your Mother and Modern Family, jogging with Eric, enjoying the hot tub, etc. Eric and I have also been watching the NFL playoffs, so I’m rooting for my Bears!!

That’s about it. We have a few more days in Mexico, and then our next cruise heads back to Hawaii, and then we rotate between Mexico and Hawaii...what a tough life. ;)

Miss you all!

zipliiiine

I went ziplining in Kauai, Hawaii a few days ago! It was pretty cool. Nine other passengers and I took a bumpy truck ride up a mountain. It rained off and on, and right before we took the first zipline down there was a huge beautiful rainbow as we looked down the canyon! Being afraid of heights, it was a bit scary taking off the edge of seven ziplines, but once I got going it was a lot of fun and I had a blast. I also learned that Kauai is where they filmed scenes from Tropic Thunder and the newest Pirates of the Caribbean movie. We drove by the place where they filmed the big opening explosion scene in Tropic Thunder. AND my excursion was free! (one of the perks of helping out the shore excursions staff at 7am once a cruise).

Now we're just preparing for our Christmas cruise. We have a bit of a different schedule due to the holidays. We're working on a little Christmas Eve show with some various crew choirs and other songs by the 4 of us singers in the cast. That will give me a little something to look forward to since I won't be home for the holidays this year. :(

However, my parents are coming to cruise January 2nd, can't wait! How the time has gone by...

I'm definitely missing people a lot these days