It’s been nearly a month since I last posted something, which is an oddity since I began blogging much more regularly at the start of the year. Since I cashed in my predictions for the Tony Awards, I’ve started a full-time internship and watched a lot of my free time dwindle into a 5:00 – 11:00 p.m. window on weekdays. So I guess this is kinda what growing up is like?

What I’ve Done

The week before I began my internship, I headed into the city for the day to attend a taping of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. I went to a Seth Meyers taping back in February and that experience was great, but this one proved to be even better!

This time I was on my own, and the ticket process required a lot more waiting and queuing than it did over at NBC, but it was so worth it! Like at Meyers, there was a pre-show segment with performances from a comedian and the house band (oh my goodness, Jon Batiste and Stay Human are incredible). Stephen Colbert also came out to greet us before the show began taping, as Seth Meyers had.

However, being alone this time around, I ended up at the Ed Sullivan Theater for ticket distribution way earlier than I probably would have been with a friend. I waited outside for almost two full hours with some other early birds before tickets were handed out. I snagged ticket number 20, and because I was alone, was given a seat at the end of the second row once we finally entered the theater.

The guest list was incredible – Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe appeared together to promote The Nice Guys, and Jessie Mueller, a Broadway actress who I adore, then made her late night talk show debut. My second row seat proved to be even more of a blessing when Gosling and Crowe dove into a bit that resulted in Ryan Gosling leaving the stage and going into the audience, meeting my eyes, and initiating a high-five. When he came back up the aisle, we were all up on our feet and I was brave enough to stick my hand out for a second high five.

The first high five was even captured on TV! I pop up at 3:29 of this video, initially looking very alarmed that this beautiful man is approaching me with an extended hand.

Overall, while both tapings were great for their own reasons, I think that Colbert presents a far greater atmosphere and experience that makes all of the pre-show waiting worth it. Maybe this is because, compared to Meyers, his taping obviously had a far more diverse audience in terms of age? There was very much of a “30-and-under” crowd at Seth Meyers with the occasional parent accompanying their grown kids, while I would consider my age in the minority of Colbert’s live audience.

This age factor could also just boil down to the fact that Colbert is on earlier (my 80-year-old grandpa is actually a fan and was watching the night this aired, but he didn’t notice me) and, in general, CBS’s target audience is in the older spectrum. Nonetheless, it was fabulous. Next step: try to swing Jimmy Fallon tickets for January when my sister and I are both home from college!

What I’ve Read

Between sitting in Central Park with my Kindle on Colbert Day and reading on my lunch breaks at work, I recently finished Jojo Moyes’ Me Before You in honor of its June 3 film release. I read Moyes’s The Girl You Left Behind last summer and loved it, and found that Me Before You was equally capable of portraying a world that really sucked in the reader.

However, I preferred The Girl You Left Behind because it was a whirlwind mix of historical and contemporary fiction and left me with that breathless feeling very intricate, well-written stories inflict. Me Before You was quirky, beautiful, and made me miss the UK a lot, but I finished it wanting a little more.

I’m still struggling with finishing books and reading consistently this year, which is odd for me. Reading on lunch breaks does help, but I often feel very stuck in a slump. Currently, I’m steadily making my way through The Light Between Oceans.

What I’ve Watched

My go-to series remains to be Call the Midwife. I’ve now started Season 5, so nearly caught up! I think it’s vastly underrated here in the States, so that’s why I loved seeing this piece about its awesomeness. The post is a wee bit spoiler-y, but it sums up what I love and feel about the show so well:

With mainly female stars, writers and directors, and conceived and produced by the award-winning playwright Heidi Thomas — the granddaughter of a suffragist — “Midwife” has feminism hot-wired into its DNA, simultaneously flaunting its soapy credentials and pushing insistently against their assumptions and restrictions.

I wasn’t always a believer, originally finding the show, with its sleeves-rolled-up capableness, a little corny and overly idealized. But beneath the cozy cardigans and sensible shoes, the nurse-and-vicar hookups and endless cups of tea, this Sunday-night comfort food has revealed an emotional depth and daring that have won me over.

With the end in sight for Call the Midwife (until Season 6, that is), I’m debating what drama to start next. Get back into Parenthood? Finally start TURN: American Spies? Watch BrainDead solely for Aaron Tveit? All valid decisions.

What have you been doing / reading / watching lately?