rockin' around the rockefeller tree

my apologies for the period of blog absence. was caught up in the holiday madness (midnight shopping, a 50th birthday party of a family friend, a trip to new york city on the weekend before christmas, more last minute-shopping for stocking stuffers, and everything in between).

my family went and saw a broadway musical called "xanadu" at the helen hayes theatre. it's based on an 80's movie starring olivia newton-john about a greek muse who came down from mt. olympus to inspire a struggling artist in venice beach, california to create a roller-disco sensation. kerry butler is heavenly as the roller-skating, leg-warmer-wearing, faux-australian-accent-speaking muse named clio who unwittingly falls in love with her mortal subject, sonny malone (cheyenne jackson). some members of the audience had on-stage seating where they actually became the live "props", being a mere inches away from the performers prancing about.

we then trooped to the very packed rockefeller center to get a glimpse of the tree, because your trip to the city just isn't complete during the holidays without gazing at that tree. this year, the lights are multi-colored. don't be fooled by the picture, the tree is much bigger than how it looks like here. i was just standing at a rather tight spot close to the street for fear of being trampled upon by camera-toting (and some infant-bearing!) tourists. i had to literally squeeze and elbow my way towards the tree. i didn't even get to see the skating rink by prometheus' statue because of the human fence surrounding it.

we got lost in brooklyn trying to get to chinatown later that night. there were just too many detours at south street seaport that we ended up crossing the bridge and then turning around to go through a tunnel determined to reach canal st. my parents had wanted to do some fish-shopping at the chinese fish vendors, but it was already 9pm when we finally got there. we therefore bought our usual supply of brown and white siopao at mei lah wah in bayard st. (where filipinos from all over also visit for the siopao) which we often do whenever we find ourselves in chinatown.

well, it's christmas eve, so i shall don my golden silk cherry blossom print ballet flats (from kohl's) to church tonight. we're spending noche buena at an aunt's house afterwards. i'm supposed to be cooking pinoy-style spaghetti for my little cousins. so i shall bring this post to a close as i retreat to the kitchen with a very merry christmas greeting to all readers and fellow bloggers who have clicked on my wee little blogspot this year! thank you!