Filming Glee

Sometimes my roommate is crazy.  And sometimes she takes me with her down her rabbit hole of crazy.  But at least usually the rabbit hole tends to lead somewhere awesome.

Last night Kari's sister had heard a rumor via the internet that Glee was going to be filming in Grand Central today.  We knew they had been in the area, in fact they were definitely right near my work a couple days ago but I missed it.  Originally the plan for the day was for us to get up early and wait in line for rush tickets for a show but instead Kari really really wanted to go see if we could find the filming and I agreed.

So instead of leaving the apartment at 7am like crazy people to go stand in line, we left the apartment at 6am like crazy people to follow an internet rumor.....like crazy people.

We started and didn't see anything, but we did walk past the trailers and saw a bunch of signs.  Eventually we followed the signs pointing to the set and saw them setting up and going in and out of a subway station.

They were calling it "Downtown"
probably so they could be subtle

This is apparently where they were holding people

To the set!

The set from across the street

Unfortunately, at this point we thought thats all we were going to see.  We couldn't figure out how to get into the subway where they might be filming, as it all seemed blocked off.  The internet was also less than helpful.

We were going to do some shopping anyway, so decided to wait around until the shops opened at 10. While we were waiting, however, we kept checking twitter and other various social networking sources and eventually people kept posting things like "I saw the Glee cast on the subway!" or "I saw the Glee cast in Grand Central".  We knew they must be somewhere!  So we wandered alll over Grand Central, eventually heading down into the subway and made our way all the way back to the shuttle to Times Square.  And sure enough, there they were!

It was so neat to be able to watch them rehearse.  Lea Michelle (Rachel) and Kevin McHale (Artie) were there.  It was also just fascinating to be able to see the filming process and watch the crew move around and watch people direct the extras.  We waited around and watched for a little while but eventually more and more people found it and it got to be so busy with annoying fans that we left.  But it was such a fun experience!!  The production assistants were pretty nice and let us take pictures as long as there was no flash, so here are some fun ones!

One thing I thought was funny is that they put up fake signs that said 14 Street - Union Square, even though there were still other signs that still said Grand Central.  Oh the magic of television.

Proof I was there!

It's the wand that chooses the wizard, Allison

This has been a fairly low key weekend and will continue to be so because my plans for today revolve mostly around finally cleaning my room.

However, yesterday I finally set up my wand remote control that I got for Christmas.  I kind of kept forgetting about it and then not having the time to read through the directions and set the whole thing up.  I still haven't programmed a command for every gesture it can do, but that will come in time.  So far the wand can turn the TV on and off, mute it, and flick the channels up and down.  My next plan is to teach it to control the volume.

The opening paragraph in the directions on how to work the wand are also written in such a way that I was very amused.  Harry Potter fans are amazing (I can only assume that's why this object exists in the first place).  Here's what it says:

This product is not a toy; it is an instrument of control. In order to use it properly and become an expert wizard or witch, you will have to practise using it. Once you are the wand's master, you will need to teach it to control things in your home. Only then will you be ready to perform your magic.

To be completely honest, all of the reviews of this object are completely accurate in that it's very difficult to control and do the right movements.  But it is oh so satisfying when it works that it just about makes up for it.

I made a little video for you to enjoy to highlight what it can do since I was so excited about it!

Everything is Awesome!

Over the weekend I saw the Lego movie with Seth and it was actually really cute.  It had gotten good reviews both critically and by word of mouth so I had high hopes for it, and it was great!  I really liked how the animation was done in that it's clearly very smoothly animated, but it's also purposely clunky because in theory everything is made of legos.  I thought the humor was very smart and while it is a kids movie it did a good job at putting in adult humor without making it too blue.

The best part is that there is a song that keeps repeating throughout the movie called "Everything is Awesome" and let's face it, that tends to be my mantra in life.  It will now be stuck in my head forever.

Here's a fun clip from the movie where you hear the song:



And these are just fun "bloopers" they released online from the movie that doesn't give anything away.



Just for fun, this is my other new favorite happy song.  I just learned (thanks to the Oscars) that it was in the movie Despicable Me 2.

London Adventure Pt 4 - Touristing

Now comes the part of my wanderings around London that are more the nerdy aspect of being a tourist.  As many of you know, I am slightly obsessed with Harry Potter.  What can I say?  I love it! There was no way I could be in London and not head to Kings Cross station to see the infamous Platform 9 3/4.  (For those who don't know, Harry got to this platform by running through a wall between platform 9 and platform 10 so he could catch the Hogwarts Express, to take him to the magical school of witchcraft and wizardry)  Even though I didn't make it as far as Hogwarts, I still enjoyed taking a few fun pictures :)  It was also at this point that my coworker saw the 20 minute line and decided this was the opportunity to leave me to my own devices.

The Tube station

Kings Cross!

The atrium

I don't give up so easily so I waited in the line and ended up chatting with some American girls who were standing behind me in line.  They were studying in London and were super excited when they found out where I worked.  It made me feel like a rockstar!  Oh, and they agreed to take my picture for me which was nice and kind of the reason I started talking to them in the first place.  The platform is really funny in that they have a couple of people (presumably they work at the Harry Potter shop around the corner) and they give you a scarf to wear and then hold it out for you so that when you take the picture it can look like you're running really fast into the wall.  It was cute and it was sweet that they didn't hurry people along and seemed to genuinely enjoy what they were doing.

Then of course I had to pop into the Harry Potter shop and spend more money than I care to admit :)  But I did buy the awesome sweatshirt that I love and is pictured below (and that I'm wearing while writing this post)!

Clearly after this experience my touristing can only go downhill, so I spent the rest of the evening walking around Leicester square and Trafalgar square.  I saw a lot of fun things and also wandered around the National Gallery before heading to see Jeeves and Wooster.

This is the street that was the inspiration for
Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter movies!

On the right is the National Gallery and the guy in silver was a cool
street performer that looked like he was floating!

Trafalgar Square

Of course I had to take a picture of this

London has a half price ticket booth just like New York City!

Inside the M&M Store

The other day of my touristy wanderings was Saturday morning before I headed to the airport.  I thought it would be fun to check out Buckingham Palace and I ended up getting there right at the changing of the guard.  It was especially fun because it was a complete accident that I even did so!  I then walked around a bit and headed north to go to Baker street to see the infamous address where Sherlock lived before heading to the airport for home!  I also stopped into the Disney store because they had an adorable Frozen display.

Fun mailbox!

Animated characters are my friends!

I love the Disney store

Hyde Park, next to Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace

The tail end of the changing of the guards

I had lunch sitting on the steps of this statue and
listed to the bagpiper

The subway stop at Baker street

The line to get into the museum (it was an hour wait so I did not go)

I did go into the shop though!

The infamous address

This sign just amused me

And that just about wraps up the telling of my adventures.  But first, a few random pictures that I took over the trip that are just fun.

This is where they film all the radio shows and the news
and where I had a couple of days of meetings

This building is actually empty but still cool!

Media Centre - where the BBC is

This is the second TARDIS I've posed with!

The view from the top floor of Media Centre - so pretty!

The subway was full of amusing signs like this

He's driving on the other side!

This was at the airport in the duty free shop.
I almost brought him home with me but then thought better

And that's all folks!