New York – Finally

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Written Sunday, December 12, 2010

I made it.  New York always felt like a lifetime away, especially after so many failed attempts to get here, but as it turns out, the city is only a 1 hour and 8 minute flight away.  Most surprising of all, this has been the same distance all along.  Who knew?

Although December seemed like a great time to go back in the blisteringly hot days of August, it has been a pretty frigid trip.  The morning news reminds us that Manhattan is seeing unseasonably cold temperatures.  So much for a warm welcome.  It’s ok – I have tough skin, especially with anything involving my NY trip.  I learned in my days at App State that it’s not the cold weather one needs to worry about, it’s the wind.  NYC plays by the same book as the NC mountains.

Before I left home, seasoned veterans used only personifying adjectives to describe the wind here.  I kept hearing words like “roaring”, “rushing”, and “chasing”.  It was all a bit daunting, but the truth wasn’t as bad as what i had it in my mind to be, which was great.  Don’t get me wrong though the wind was certainly fierce, it just didn’t turn into the Wicked Witch of the West like I imagined.

Some things I’ve learned about this wonderful city:

• People aren’t rude, they’re just on their way to somewhere important (or seemingly important) and aren’t in the mood to dilly dally.
• Locals don’t look up and marvel.  (I would be a bad local in this regard)
• Exterior doors are heavy.  All of them.
• Public restrooms are often unisex.  Very weird to me.
• Get lost.  You never know what kinds of hidden gems you’ll find.  This is how we discovered Washington Park, NYU, Magnolia Bakery, Times Square, and Central Park.  Enjoy everything along the way.
• The subway is dirty, but not dangerous (from what I saw anyways).
• The city is loud and cars honk their horns any chance they get.  It makes it hard to sleep.  Request a room higher up than the 3rd floor.
• It’s as expensive as you want it to be.  $4 for a Bud Light is better than the $9 I thought it would be.  There are restaurants and bars that are pricey, but many are reasonable and advertise specials outside.
• The buildings are not as sky-scraping as I thought they would be.  In my imagination they were, well, Dubai proportions.  It’s a good thing that they’re not as giant.  It makes this place seem real after all, and helps me believe that I’m actually here.
• Locals are helpful and approachable.
• We walked to W. 82 Street and back to the other side on E. 51st.  The city is walkable.
• I never felt unsafe, even on small streets.
• My haggling skills do not translate to NY street vendors.
• Cash Cab pre-selects contestants.  Don’t get your hopes up on the street.
• Cabs are not nearly as expensive as I thought they would be.  A guide-book at the hotel said that you shouldn’t expect to pay more than $10 per way and I found that to be true.  It was only $10.50 (after tip) for our longest route.  Midtown to La Guardia airport was $35 (again, after tip) , but that’s the same as 2 people on the Super Shuttle which is shared and much longer of a commute after picking everyone up, dropping everyone off.
• The TKTS discount ticket booth in the South Street Seaport was not bad at all.  Less than an hour wait and that was with only 1 person working behind the counter.  You save at least 40% on theatre tickets which can be a huge savings.  We had been saving for this trip for a while, but even so, the $75 splurge would have been a heavy punch if we paid full price.  By the way, we saw La Cage with Kelsey Grammer and it was hilarious!

I have had such a fantastic time.  I fell in love with the views at night of the Chrysler Building, the rocks in Central Park, the $2 hot chocolates served up everywhere, and the restaurants on every corner.  Nothing compares to being at John Lennon’s memorial in Central Park on his 30th anniversary of death, singing his songs along with hundreds of other fans of all ages and nationalities.  I had a man in his fifties to my right who was there by himself, reminiscing about where he was 30 years ago and what happened.  Then I had a 20-something year old Asian guy on my left who was singing loud and proud “Arr you need is Rove!”.  It was all too great not to stay and absorb the atmosphere.  We must have been there at least an hour, and I loved every single minute of it.  It was something that was definitely not planned before the trip but man oh man were we in the right place at the right time.

To add to the Beatle Mania, Paul McCartney was in the city all week, too!  We never saw him when we were walking around, but that’s not to say I wasn’t looking.  Instead I was haunted by his presence – He was on Jimmy Fallon one night and Saturday Night Live later in the week.  So close, yet so far…

I wish I could bottle the experiences of New York and bring them home with me.  It is a bittersweet time right now because I leave this afternoon and head back home.  Home, where I have a dog and a two bedroom apartment that does not fit into a 50 square foot space.  Home is where it’s quiet and I am not woken up in the night by cars or sanitation workers.  Home is nice, but so different from this island I’m on right now.

Aaron and I have been weighing the pros and cons of moving to this area.  The theme that we gather from friends who live here is that it is great, but you have to bust your tail to work around the clock if you’re going to make it.  A friend of mine from high school said he’s lived here five years and still hasn’t seen the top of the Empire State Building or The Top of the Rock.  He hasn’t seen Ground Zero (although Aaron and I went but weren’t able to see much-9 years later).  On the other hand, opportunities are what you make of them so I believe it wouldn’t be so restrictive, but the point is there is a lot more free time in North Carolina, and we can come up to visit and spend our days seeing and doing all things NY.  Not working.  On the plus side, they do make a lot more money here, so the cost of living would be more balanced than I originally thought.

We’ll see.  I love living in Carrboro, but I might want to change it up a bit.

Christmas music just came on the radio here in our tiny shoebox of a room, which means it is 8:30am and time to get up to start the day.  I’m glad that I a got a moment to write while we’re still here.  It has been go go go! the rest of the time.

I hope I can bring this great christmas spirit back with me, because it’s really great here in New York.  Everything is decorated and festive!

Time now to pack my things, schedule our airport shuttle, and then wander around in our remaining hours here.  Until next time New York…

But fate intervened and we didn’t leave that night

To follow-up where I left off.  We arrived at the airport and soon discovered that our flight was cancelled.  Fortunately we purchased  travel insurance so expenses for our hotel, meals, and transportation costs were reimbursed until our flight actually took off.  Back at The Pod Hotel, we had a much quieter room on the 6th floor with a better view.  The staff was great when I called them from the airport to check on availability and offered us a reduced rate of $75.  Who says New Yorkers are all rude?  That felt like a genuine dose of Southern Hospitality if you ask me.

So of all the things to happen, we got an extra night in Manhattan for free!  How did we use it, you ask?  We went to the New York Public Library to wander around a bit.  We even took our picture in front of their huge Christmas tree, which now looks like we were in The White House.  Nope, just a fantastic library!

It was pouring rain so I bought an umbrella (my coat was starting to smell like mildew) and we found an Irish Pub to eat in.  The bartender, an Irishman named Andrew, was so nice and charismatic so we had no reason to go anywhere else after our meal.  I do love a good Happy Hour – such an exotic concept for North Carolinians since it is banned in our state.  Anyways, we made friends who live in the area and one who are offered to give us a free meal at his restaurant, Brenden’s, next time we’re in town.

The only thing left to do after saying goodbye to our pub friends was to eat a slice of pizza on our walk home and take as many pictures while we/I marveled at the Chrysler Building one more time along Lexington Ave.

So really this time, until we meet again New York…

NYC Bound! Really?

Anyone who knows me well knows that I have a sad longing to visit New York.  It’s like the cute boy in class that I’ve always been too shy to talk to.  There have been countless instances when I have had opportunities to go, but every single time it fell through.  I have rerouted my flight plans in a conscious effort to avoid a stopover in NYC because I didn’t want my first time there to be when I was trapped in an airport.  2 years ago, it was unavoidable when coming back from London and I actually had to transfer from JFK to LaGuardia – Why life, why?  American Airlines gave me such a tease as we flew past the skyline.  C’est la vie, alright.

So now I have this amazing boyfriend who is proving just how true to his word he really is.  He said nonchalantly a while back, “We’ll go to New York.  Why not?”.  Why not, he asks?  Why not?  Say that to all of the past reasons why I haven’t been yet – that’s why not.  Well, he might be right after all.  After we had a real Christmas tree experience in my apartment last year, we’ve decided to up the ante and see the giant one in Rockefeller Plaza this year.  Naturally, right?

First things first.  Today goes down in history as the day that I booked my hotel in New York!  Ok, our hotel.  Details, details.  A friend at work recommended The Pod Hotel and after scouring the internet, this does seem like an amazing deal.  It’s chic, clean, it’s relatively cheap (“relative” is the key word), in the heart of Midtown, and just 4 blocks from Rockefeller Plaza.  Try to stop me from being outside of Studio 1-A with a poster for my favorite news anchors Matt and Ann (don’t ruin this for me, Meredith!).  The Pod also has a rooftop terrace that will be the location for many photo shoots.  Sold!

Also worth getting excited about is The Pod’s hostel feel that I really enjoy.  Hostels give you this sense of comradery that you just don’t get anywhere else.  You are constantly meeting interesting people rather than keeping to yourself.  It gives such a richer experience because you’re constantly in the know about places to go vs places to avoid, and you always have fun people to hang out with at the end of the day.   The bunk beds and shared bathrooms just add to the story!

I’m a planner, and at times like this I’m extremely thankful for my experience organizing travel for people in their 20′s-30′s.  I have an outline, a budget and I’m ready to continue booking arrangements.  I know what needs to be paid now and what should wait until December.  Early this year I opened a separate savings account for travel and have since been squirreling $70/month for this trip of a lifetime.  Although the account isn’t as hefty as I need it to be, it will be a huge benefit when December rolls around.

The Pod has a forum where travelers can talk to one another before their trip, which is very helpful!  I’m also reading a lot online and asking everyone from my hair dresser to high school friends now living in NY for recommendations on things to do.  I’m gathering as much as I can via word of mouth and using the Frommer’s guidebook as it should be used for a trip like this – as a coaster.

I have taken my NYC snowglobe out from hiding (it was punished for mocking me) and proudly display it in the open for inspiration.  I’m trying to get a third source of income so that I’m on track for affording such things as theatre tickets, or even a drink at the NYC prices.  Let’s be realistic – there are still a lot of things that require money just waiting for me when I get back (ex. Christmas presents and a newer car).

At the moment I’m excited and certainly feeling like celebrating the fact that I made hotel reservations, but other than that I don’t fully believe this is happening.  Something can wreck it at any time and there I will be, calling to cancel.  I already worked it out with Aaron that if he should decide to break up with me within the 24 hour no-cancellation window, we’re still going but will enjoy our separate vacations and separate bunk beds (even separate TVs!).  Maybe I should work in a 48-hr relationship cancellation clause…

Moving on to more serious topics, should we start taking bets on how long it takes me to start crying out of pure joy when I’m in the city?  This may be poll-worthy.  Get ready, New York!  This sappy Southern gal has been waiting a long time for this.

How To Be Alone

This is the most beautiful and inspiring video I have seen in a long time.  Please watch, absorb, and be changed for the better.

From my own experiences, I have realized such amazing things about myself as I am truly ok being alone.  At my core, when the phone isn’t ringing and friends and family are miles away – I had better be comfortable with myself.

The most important lesson that I have learned through my alone time self-reflection, and I wish I could pass along to everyone, is that I can do anything.  My Dad always told me this growing up:

Me:  “You mean I can be in the circus?”

Dad:  “If that’s what you want to do, you certainly can”.

Me: “You mean I can be an astronaut?”

Dad:  “Sure, if that’s what you want to do and you work hard at it, you can be anything you want to be.  Just be the best Abby that you can be.”  (He still tells me that last part regularly)

Thanks Dad!  It just took me a while to realize the full extent of what you meant.

Let’s do this!  Where have you been alone that was relatively unconventional, and made you very proud of yourself?  If you can’t think of a time, maybe this is a good opportunity to challenge yourself.

For me, it’s a great reminder of how I reconnect with myself.  No phones, computers, iPads, etc.  Just me and my surroundings, head on.  You can expect me to seize more opportunities for alone time in the near future (don’t worry Boyfriend-this is not a blog breakup).  I will report back.  I hope you will, too.

Create yourself

“Life isn’t about finding yourself, life is about creating yourself”  -Unknown

I try to make this a personal goal and it really has changed my life drastically.  Who says you can’t be a person who backpacks through Europe, moves to a city just because you want to, or learns a foreign language?  Heck, you can even be a blogger (gasp!).  Go out and create the person you want to be!  No excuses for saying you want to do something and not even trying to make it happen.  This is something hugely important to my life and I challenge you to challenge yourself.

(And for my next trick, I’ll vanish and reappear as a motivational speaker…)

Yes, I too will be challenging myself more.  This blog is a huge challenge in itself.  I don’t know about you, but the idea of just putting it all out there is just plain scary.

This next one may seem like more of a reward than a challenge, but it’s out of my comfort zone and something new so give me a break.  Helping my personal growth and stuff.  Yeah.  So here we go-I just decided I’m going to meet Abby (not this one, that one) in Boston in May and meeting/staying with her friend from college.  Never been to Boston but why not?  Bam.  Done.  No telling what’s next, but I can’t wait to find out.  I officially declare her my soul-sister travel buddy.  Montgomery, Rome, Paris, London, Pittsburgh, Ikea, and next stop:  Boston.