The Beauty Is

The beauty part about New York City is that you just never know where your day will take you.

Today I was planning to take a Pilates class, do some freelance work, and maybe clean the tub. Little did I know that a friend of mine would contact me this morning with tickets to a taping of "The Daily Show" with Tim Gunn as the guest! Well, I quickly rearranged my day (meaning that I still went to Pilates and pushed the work and the chores to the bottom of my To-Do list), and started planning my TV-ready outfit. An hour later, another friend called with tickets to the U.S. Open. It never rains, but sometimes it pours exciting invitations!

Disclaimer: I am not telling you this to make you jealous or to tell you how popular I am. I mean, these fancy free invitations are not a daily occurrence for me. In fact, I spend most of my time curled up in front of my DVR and/or staring at Facebook and waiting for people's statuses (Is there a plural for "status?") to change.

Seeing as I do not care one iota for tennis, I had an easy time deciding between the two events. Even though I had never seen a single episode of "The Daily Show," I have friends who adore it. And I like my friends, so I'm assuming I will like what they like. Unless it's Avatar, which I refuse to watch on the grounds that hearing about it makes me want to scream.

Anyway, I had a delightful time at the taping and was quite impressed with Jon Stewart's ability to riff with the audience in a pre-show Q&A session. (For example, when asked what he did with his vacation week, Jon responded, "I spent time with the family. It's great to make people who love you.") Afterward, I stopped at Ink 48, a new hotel on 11th Avenue that was rumored to have a roof bar. As it turns out, the hotel has a GLORIOUS roof bar--open, spacious, breathtaking views of midtown buildings and the Hudson, moderately expensive drinks, fancy decor, and moderately fancy people. Sixteen stories above midtown, with a warm breeze blowing in from the water, I felt like I could breathe again.

And now I am back at home, curled up with my DVR and pretending to do my neglected work while staring at Facebook and waiting for people's statuses (stati?) to change. The Tim Gunn "Daily Show" episode will be on in 30 minutes. Thank you, New York!