Awoke far too early this morning. My flight out of LAX was scheduled to leave at 9am. Before heading out, I had to pick up Landon so that he could drive the car home from the airport. It was dark out. I showered, shaved, and made sure my things were packed. By the time I got to Landon’s it was slightly lighter outside. He was a good sport about putting off sleep to help me get to the airport. We arrived in good time, and I made it quickly through security. I grabbed a bagel from Starbucks and sat around reading the day’s newspaper until boarding time arrived.
We were supposed to board the plane at 8:25am. At 8:30, an announcement came over the loudspeaker that the plane was still in the hangar. Something about a cap for one of the engines not fitting. They said the plane should be out of the hangar and ready to board at 9, which would push back our time of arrival in Houston from 2:17pm to 2:30pm. I walked up to the ticket counter and asked if this would affect my connecting flight, which was scheduled to leave Houston at 3:30pm (boarding time was scheduled for 3:00pm). The lady at the ticket counter said I would be fine as long as the plane was ready on time. Wow. Reassuring.
I went to take a piss, and when I came back, the departure board said our flight was now scheduled to board at 9:30. Shit. I went back to the counter and spoke to a different lady this time, who didn’t have the “you’ll be fine!” attitude of the first one. She said there was still a chance I’d make my connection, but as a precaution she was going to secure me a seat on the next flight. I sat down, and when I looked at the board again it said we were scheduled to depart at 10:30am. Shit.
So, I got off to a late start. The flight to Houston was roughly three hours long. It was very smooth once we left the terminal. The sky was filled with pretty clouds. I slept for a little while, and when I opened my eyes again we were beginning our descent.
The airport in Houston was pretty nice. And by that I mean the first thing I saw when I left the plane was a Fox News Channel newsstand. I had a few hours to kill, so I went to get a bite to eat at Chili’s. Then I went to the Continental “President’s Club,” to play on the Internet and drink free wine. Score.
The flight from Houston to Birmingham was on a tiny little plane. I had a window and an aisle seat! It was like flying to Vermont all over again. That flight was really quick. I think I might have nodded off again. I got to watch the sunset from above the clouds. That was cool. I landed in Birmingham shortly after 7pm. Oh, and when I went to pick up my rental car the only one they had left was a fucking enormous Dodge Ram truck. At first I thought, “When in Alabama…” but then my conscience got the best of me and I went back to ask if they had anything smaller. Goodbye, truck! Hello, 2009 Chevy Cobalt!
Immediately after leaving the airport I headed for Nicci’s theater to catch part of her dress rehearsal. I arrived during the last number of the first act. Everything in the theater looked really cool! It’s all on one level, but the set design was expertly done and the setting was more than comparable to the version of the show Nicci and I saw last year. The second act is very “principal-heavy” as she put it, which I guess means the main characters are front and center. The musical numbers all sounded great. Nicci and the main guy character, Dylan, totally stood out as the best of the cast. It wasn’t as apparent as it was in the last two plays Nicci has done, but she’s got immense presence on stage. After the rehearsal ended, all these volunteer kids (high school aged, I think?) rushed over to her to tell her how wonderful she was. I got to stick around and listen to the cast go over their notes with the show’s director. He had nothing but praise for Nicci, which I kind of expected after hearing and seeing how stunning she was on stage.
It was midnight, and I finally got to see and talk to Nicci for the first time in over three weeks. It was quite good to see her. She did her best to introduce me very quickly to all the other members of her cast. Some of them said they’d heard about me or seen pictures of me, so I felt welcomed by them. The two of us drove back to her hotel suite, where I met her suitemate Michael. Nicci was hungry so she made herself some dinner and we chatted incessantly about the show. She was very interested in seeing what I had to say about it. I tried my best, but I’m not a theater expert so I don’t know if she really got to the heart of what I was trying to articulate. When she finished eating, we drank a bottle of wine and that was it. Bedtime.
I don’t think I cried when I saw her, but I came really close. Call me a fag if you want, but I love her. So fuck you!
