US Open: Some Now. Some Later.

Last night I went to the US Open. When the boy and I chose the date we would be going months ago, there is no way we could have known just how lucky we would get. And we couldn’t have gotten any luckier.

It was the women’s and men’s quaterfinals. Playing in the women’s match? Melanie Oudin — the girl who no one suspected would get this far but in fact has been beating everyone. So exciting!

Even more exciting? That would be the men’s semifinals. That would be because ROGER FEDERER was playing! When I opened the US Open website and saw who was playing, I seriously had the biggest smile on my face. Oudin is very exciting but Federer is my favorite (and my brother’s and the boy’s favorite) player. And both on the same night? We really lucked out!

I’m sure not many of you are following both me and my brother on Twitter, but if you are you might notice a lot of this:

@dysterious GO FEDERER
@brother* GO FEDERER
@dysterious GO FEDERER
@brother FEDERER! WOO!

*brother’s Twitter identity protected until I find out if he cares if I post it here

When the boy and I were at Mohonk, we caught the end of the French Open when Federer won. It was so exciting — and it was pretty early. Not as early as it was in Seattle, but my brother was awake and watching. When Federer won Wimbeldon, the boy and I were sitting in the living room. This was even earlier, like very early NY time. But my brother was awake and watching. What a sweet boy he is. I love our shared love of Federer (although his is much more legit). And I love having this in common.

Needless to say, I was thrilled to be seeing Federer play! I met the boy at his job and we drove to my old hometown of Flushing, NY without any of the insane traffic we were expecting. The most confusing part was circling the maze that is Flushing Meadow Park to find the parking lot for Shea and Arthur Ashe. While navigating this maze, I experienced a flashback from my childhood when I was in a dance recital at Queens Theater in the Park, having the exact same problem finding our way through the maze. I never would have remembered that — or even thought about it — if it hadn’t been for this. I wonder what other hidden memories I have laying around ready to be associated with something else to come back to the front of my mind!

Anyway. We finally got there and parked and walked over the bridge to get to the tennis. I saw people walking by eating something our of a little cup. It looked like ice cream of some sort, and since everyone was eating it, I knew it was free. I also knew that whatever it was, I wanted it.

And then I saw the Oikos stands!

They were handing out free yogurt at the stands and there were other reps all around handing out yogurts. These stands were all over. I snagged a blueberry and I loved it! I am a big fan of Stonyfield organic products, especially after seeing Food, Inc. If I knew there would be free Oikos, I would have brought a giant ziplock with a couple ice packs in it and stocked up! It made me happy to see so many people eating the yogurt, and I know Stonyfield made a very smart decision in working with the US Open. So many people who might not have known about Oikos now know!

When we got into the US Open area, I was enthralled. Even though I grew up 5 minutes from there, I had never been to the US Open before! I had heard about how much fun the side matches are but I never really got it. Now, I get it. And there wasn’t even that much going on since it is later in the Open now, but it was still awesome. The boy and I walked around and watched some people playing in the side courts. Next year, we plan to go on a weekend day earlier in the tournament so we can see even more.

We heard a rumor that Federer was practicing on a side court and started following the people who we overheard, but then one of them went to use the restroom and we decided that continuing to follow them after the woman came out of the bathroom would be creepy.

So we walked in the general direction of where they were going and lots of people were standing around. The boy and I asked someone why everyone was there holding cameras, and someone said that someone else had spotted Federer’s dad walk by, so now everyone wanted to wait and see if he walked by himself. We waited with the crowd for a few minutes and then gave up and got wine and dinner. And ice cream. There were Ben and Jerry’s all over, and I am a fan of that company for not getting milk from cows treated with rGBH, for their political activism and for their social responsibility. I was telling the boy that if there were two ice cream stands side by side, Ben and Jerry’s and another company, I would always choose Ben and Jerry’s. Their mission succeeded with me. And so did their Half Baked ice cream bar.

Here I am in front of the fountains you always see on TV!

Oops! MUCH better:

There they are!

By the way — see me in my perfect new jeans? When I put them on yesterday, I was a little disappointed to realize that they are, in fact, jeans. And by definition, not the most comfortable piece of clothing in existence as I had thought in the store. However, after a comfortable long night at the Open I felt great in them. And when I wore them again tonight, they were more stretched out and MORE PERFECT. I am in love. I am never ever washing them. The more they stretch out, the more I love them. The more I will avoid wearing sweats everywhere I go in the winter.

The first match was delayed because the day session went on long, but finally, 30 minutes after the match was supposed to start, the gates were opened.

So many people! Come back this weekend for the rest of my US Open experience (the Some Later), including pictures of the game and more!