For the first time in 5 years, I missed a month of updating my diary. I'd be sadder about it, but the person I want to keep most in touch with is right here and so it's less imperative that I write. At the very least, I'm going to use it as my excuse for not writing, even if it isn't the whole story.

    Today, we've gone all Christmas! We bought our tree today and decorated it nicely. We did the 1st half of our shopping this afternoon and will finish the rest of it this evening before we head over to the theatre to see The Chronicles of Narnia.

    I still need to do my shopping for Tara, but I have a list! I'll do it during my lunch hour at work in this coming week. I hope she'll like what I get her.

    Our first Christmas, how exciting! Our biggest Christmas gift has already been unwrapped though. We bought a Canon Powershot A620 to replace the camera we lost in NYC. I would have liked to have waited to replace it, but we so enjoy capturing our lives on film and with our last U2 show coming, it would be sad to not have it available to us.

     I need to roll out of here, but before that I'll also post the December 4 entry. Oh, to give you a reference point, we watched the movie Millions last night and I totally loved the soundtrack. As a result of that, I bought one of the songs on iTunes and I'm listening to it on repeat.

    I totally missed November in my diary. As the days ticked off of the calendar I thought of it daily and yet I didn’t make the time to sit down and write on any of those occasions. I’m sitting on the couch watching Sunday night football and I’m writing on the laptop. I don’t usually write this way. I usually sit down in front of my computer on the other side of the room and take care of the diary there. However, I’m realizing that I should probably do this more often because the laptop allows me to write while I share a blanket with Tara. I can’t do that sitting at my desk. When I finish writing, I’ll just email it to myself.
Since I’m so far behind, I’ll have to rewind back to late October. After the two U2 shows, we prepared for Halloween. We didn’t have great plans for the day, but we did get into the spirit by buying a few Pumpkins and a few costumes for Fritz and his sister Zoe. Tara carved the Pumpkin herself, I bought the costumes for Fritz and Zoe. I couldn’t resist. Darth Fritz is fearsome is he not?
The exciting parts of November occurred during Thanksgiving week. We left for NYC the Sunday before Thanksgiving. We rented a car to save wear and tear on my car. It was actually pretty cheap, certainly cheaper than flying in or taking the train. We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn on 47th Street and 8th Avenue. It was only a few blocks from Times Square. The next morning we walked the mile to Madison Square Garden at about 8:00 AM. Despite getting up early we were still number 36th and 37th in line for U2. We met some great people from Connecticut and spent the entire day chatting with them and watching their stuff and spot in line when bathroom breaks or food was needed.
We were waiting in line because all of the floor tickets for U2 are General Admission, which means that it’s first come, first serve. The stage is set up with a big ellipse where approximately 400 or so people are allowed inside. The ellipse allows the band to traverse around the group of the people in the center and put them selves out toward the middle of the venue, thus connecting with more people. Getting into the ellipse is random. They have a hand scanner attached to a laptop and they scan each ticket and if the Vertigo logo beeps at you, you get in. It’s quite exciting, but before coming to NY, we were 0 for 3. Even if we don’t get inside the ellipse it’s still great being on the outside of it. We were on the outside of the ellipse when Tara was brought on stage in Denver.
For this trip, we printed off the best picture of Tara dancing with Bono in the hope that we might finally meet Bono. On Monday afternoon, we finally had our chance! The entrance where the band enters the venue is on the same side of the building that we were lined up on. Tara decided to stand by that entrance while I hung out with Frank, one of our new friends from CT. After some time passed I figured that I would find Tara and tell her that I was going to return our stuff to the hotel before it was too late. About 2 minutes after I arrived, a black SUV pulled up and out stepped Bono!
Tara was right on the front row of the barrier separating the 50 or so fans from the band. As Bono began to walk the line greeting people and signing autographs, the crowd got pretty silent. I couldn’t see Bono, but I decided to express my gratitude, so I said, ‘Hey Bono, I wanted to thank you for introducing me to my wife. We met on a U2 fan site about a year ago and we got married in July.” Bono replied, ‘eh, is that right? Congratulations!” He then headed toward my voice and took Tara’s picture. He looked at the picture, and asked if it were her. She nodded and I told him that it was from Denver. He signed the front of the picture, turned it over and jotted a little self-portrait, wrote congratulations Tera and then kissed her cheek. I would have liked to have gotten eye contact with Bono to express my thanks, but this crazy British woman kept pushing herself into the pile trying to get to the front. I was preoccupied keeping her from stepping all over us while she was yelling at Bono that she had just gotten engaged and wanted him to kiss her ring. Bono uttered almost under his breath “you can kiss my ass.” It was a funny real moment. As soon as we had gotten the autograph, we bailed from the crowd. We had had enough of that Mad Brit.
It began to rain about an hour before they were scheduled to let us in. To help us out they let us in early. We got our tickets scanned and then were ushered toward the floor. Unfortunately, we weren’t told to stop where they wanted us to stop. We all ran (Yes. We ran!) to the floor and Tara and I had an excellent spot on the outside of the ellipse. A minute later, the staff told us that we were too early and that we would have to return to the hall. That sucked. We relined up (out of order of course) and then had to run again to the floor. The second run wasn’t as successful, but it was good enough. All that we wanted was to be right on the rail, so that we could lean on it during the show.
The show was spectacular! It was one of the two or three best U2 performances that I’ve ever seen. To cap it off, they pulled Patti Smith on stage to perform the John Lennon song Instant Karma. It was the first time that U2 has performed that song, which was a special treat for the NY fans. We were exhausted and we could only afford a few hours sleep before coming back to get back on line.
On Tuesday, we got to the line at about 7 AM, and we were 35th and 36th in line. It was raining and it was going to be a miserable day. We decided to take a trip to Kmart which was within walking distance to buy some blankets. We bundled up and tried to weather the weather. A couple of guys from Edmonton offered to watch our spot in line, if we would do the same while they ran some errands. So, after lunch we were able to return to the hotel to get a nap. Unfortunately, on our way back to the line, I lost my camera in the cab. All the pictures we took at the show, (and there were some good ones) are lost forever. Now we have to buy another camera before hitting the road again. It’s not an expense that I’d like to have, but I’d hate to miss out on more captured memories.
The show on the 2nd night was exciting for us, because we were finally buzzed into the ellipse. We were basically had front row tickets and it was really exciting! The bassist was only a couple of feet in front of us and Bono certainly strutted about. My only complaint is that U2 cut the show short by two songs for some unknown reason and it seemed unplanned.
The next day, we drove up to Albany to visit my parents for Thanksgiving. After driving the 3 hours or so to their house, we went out to dinner and then I took Tara on a nighttime drive of Albany. I took her by all the houses that I lived in while I lived there. She really enjoyed hearing about my memories of my time in Albany. I loved sharing it with her.
We awoke on Christmas morning with about an inch of snow on the ground. It was really sweet. Very romantic! Tara helped my Mom in the kitchen and I helped my Dad with some computer stuff and other chores that he couldn’t do alone. Thanksgiving was really relaxing and delicious. On Friday Tara and I drove into Albany to do some record shopping. We found a few items, but no U2; maybe next time. We drove home on Saturday, in time to get enough rest before the new week started.
Last night we went to my Office Christmas party. It was great! It was at the Westfield’s Marriott and they had a casino theme. They gave you $30,000 in funny money apiece. They offered, craps, roulette, Texas Hold-Em and Black-Jack. We tried playing everything, but found our home at the Black Jack Table. At one point we were up almost $200,000 , but we finished up with $160,000 in chips. Apparently they will divide up all the vouchers, put them in separate groups and then draw for prizes. I have no idea how well I did compared to others, but compared to everyone I was playing near, I was rocking and rolling. It was a blast! I do have one funny story to offer about the evening. At one of the tables we sat at, I began chatting with an older lady next to me. She was fun to talk to and immediately liked my sense of wit. Her husband came to take her home and when I turned I noticed that his name on this tag was familiar. So, I said, “Your name is familiar, I think I’ve seen it on an email”, he introduced himself as Chuck and I introduced myself as well. After he had left, another person at the table informed me that he was in fact the president of the company. I had to laugh because of my ignorance. You see, my company has been sold twice in the last two years and I haven’t met any of the new management, so it’s not surprising that I don’t know this stuff. I barely knew anyone in my old company. Tara looked beautiful in her new skirt and blouse and it was fun dressing up and eating well. She is already in bed, because we were up late last night. I need to go and join her. Marriage is still wonderful! Can’t wait to go back to her home town in a couple of weeks. It’s my first visit as the husband!

A few Halloween pictures