Yesterday was one of the longest days I’ve had in a long time. In fact, the day seemed to last so long that in my mind, it has reached back to include the evening before as well. On Friday afternoon, I drove Geoff, Barry, and Livia to Oakland Airport to catch a Jet Blue flight to New York’s JFK airport. The flight was delayed (flight schedules were slowly recovering from the torrents of snow that had hit the day before), and we didn’t end up arriving in New York until 1am. Luckily, the folks at Avis stayed open for us, so we rented two cars and drove the two hours to Old Lyme, Connecticut, arriving just after 3:30am.

Instead of going directly to bed, Barry decided to show me his fancy new computer. I watched sleep-deprivation take its toll as he plugged his notebook into the hotel phone and tried to dial up to his Evil ISP (AOL). “Uh…. Barry? I don’t think that’s going to work,” I said. “Oh. . My bad,” he said. Barry unplugged the cord from the phone, threw the dangling end onto the ground, and tried to dial up again. :)

I’m not sure how these guys do it. Leslie’s wallet was stolen in Denver a few days ago, and it seems that all of them are on the phone dealing with normal life issues at every spare moment. While we were waiting for our delayed flight in Oakland, the quartet took over an area near payphones and started to take care of business. Well, three of them took care of business. Alberto pretended to make important calls so I could take a photo of all four of them with proper consistency. :)

In the morning, I discovered that Old Lyme was a beautiful little colonial town. Having grown up in San Diego, I always find snow and cold winters to be extremely novel. I wandered around the church for a little while before driving off to see Pamina at Yale. The quartet was a bit confused when I returned, because I had left to visit Pamina and returned with Pat, who had taken the train out to New Haven from Manhattan.

The concert was fun, except for an annoying, high-pitched shriek that refused to quench itself during the first half of the show. Afterwards, we drove into the forest for a dinner-reception at a secluded home. The hosts were exceptionally nice; Pat and I were welcomed along with the musicians, even though we had not been performing.

Pat, Livia and I hit the road at around 10pm and arrived back in Manhattan just after midnight. Our drop-off route took us to 104th St, 75th St, and Houston. Alone, I arrived at the Avis car rental counter at La Guardia airport at 1:28am only to discover that the airport was closed, meaning that cabs were not readily available. The Avis shuttle dude drove me around until we found a cab driver asleep in his car. A few honks later, I was on the way to Tony and Ai-jen’s place.

What a long day.

update: The Old Lyme concert has been reviewed by TheDay.com.

2:57pm: The St. Lawrence String Quartet + Livia Sohn, taking care of business before a flight to New York (Oakland Airport)

3:26pm: Alberto Parrini pretends to make an important call

12:51am: The SLSQ + Livia Sohn, at JFK

1:00am: On the Avis car rental shuttle

1:07am: Renting a car at Avis. They stayed open for us.

12:02pm: Barry Shiffman and Todd Palmer talk, while Alberto tries to get attention

12:12pm: Barry Shiffman, Todd Palmer, and Lesley Robertson, in front of the church in Old Lyme, CT

The Fifth Meetinghouse of The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme

12:16pm: Lesley Robertson, going over her music

12:18pm: Alberto Parrini and Lesley Roberton, before rehearsal

12:23pm: Charles Wadsworth, Courtenay Budd, and Geoff Nuttall rehearse

12:26pm: Charles Wadsworth and Geoff Nuttall

12:28pm: Charles Wadsworth, Courtenay Budd, and Geoff Nuttall rehearse

12:34pm: Charles Wadsworth and Todd Palmer rehearse, while Geoff Nuttall stands by

12:36pm: Courtenay Budd, listening to the rehearsal

12:38pm: Charles Wadsworth, Courtenay Budd, and Todd Palmer rehearse

4:51pm: The walk from the car to the church, in Old Lyme, CT

4:52pm: Church and house next door, in Old Lyme, CT

5:47pm: Old Lyme: the audience applauds for the performers

7:34pm: Alberto Parrini, Lesley Roberton, Livia Sohn, and Geoff Nuttall, at a post-concert dinner/reception

7:34pm: The Quartet + Livia Sohn, at the reception

7:40pm: Geoff Nuttall talks to Pat Suh

7:40pm: Courtenay Budd, at the reception

7:40pm: Todd Palmer and Barry Shiffman (rear), Alberto Parrini and Lesley Robertson (front)

7:40pm: Todd Palmer and Barry Shiffman, caught unaware while comparing notes

7:41pm: Charles Wadsworth, at reception

7:50pm: Charles Wadsworth, Geoff Nuttall, Livia Sohn

8:47pm: Mid-conversation, at the reception

9:15pm: Todd Palmer is told not to worry, after spilling red wine on the hand-made lace tablecloth

10:00pm: Geoff Nuttall comes downstairs to see us off...

10:01pm: Geoff, being `artsy`

1:28am: Returning the rental car to La Guardia airport, after dropping off Livia and Pat in Manhattan