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So here it is, back from New York with a few stories to tell, and some slowly healing shin splints. I didn’t come home with much else, other than a ton of photos, which are now up, and getting attention on flickr. Check them out.

Alright, so here’s where we start: I got the closest spot to the terminal I have ever gotten in the parking lot on Sunday. Nothing monumental, but something I was excited about, both on Sunday, and then again on Tuesday, so worth mentioning, I guess. After flying up to NYC, I checked into my hotel, and wandered around Manhattan for a while. I walked to the Empire State building, and back up to Times Square. It was kind of cool not having an agenda, and being able to wander around and take pictures of the city. It was a lot of fun. It was then, that I wished I had brought my SLR, but I am even more glad I didn’t; I didn’t want to have to deal with it to be honest.

After my adventure around the city, and after an hour spent in Virgin Records (oh the love I have for this store), I met up with my good friend Steve for dinner and drinks. It was a good first day in New York, especially considering the last time I was there; it was freezing, raining, and I was very sick. Thank God that is not how it went this time!

Now on to the first day of working in NYC. I was supposed to meet my team around 8:30, upon which time we would travel over to the site for the site visit. I called them several times, but got no answer, so I figured I would just head over to the hotel. I had forgotten which hotel they were staying in, but quickly fixed that with a call to my buddy Deb. Just as I am about to head out to the hotel (after waiting 20 minutes for them to call me back), I get a call. It’s them. They are already in Brooklyn. Fuck. So, I walked up to the subway, and took the 2 train to Brooklyn. Now, I wasn’t nervous or anything, because I have done public transit in England and France (as well as here), so I pretty much knew how it worked. But, I made a mistake and got off 2 stops too early. That meant I had the wonderful opportunity to wonder around the ghetto in Brooklyn, and walked like 10 blocks to get to the site. All that, and no apology for leaving me. Nice.

That night, after having drinks with my coworkers is a cute gay spot in Chelsea (which I still think it is hilarious that my cute lesbian coworker took us there… my other two coworkers are straight, married men), I bought a ticket to see Avenue Q. I was fourth row. It was fantastic. I had the cast recording, so I knew what to expect, but it was better than even that. I loved it. After that, I went back to the hotel and crashed. Walking around the city in the wrong shoes is not a good idea.

After heading back to the site the next day, and having the best bagel ever, we headed back to the airport to come home. I had a great trip, got to see a great friend and a great show, and got to really enjoy New York, unlike before. I can definitely see the appeal of the city now… before I was blinded by blistering cold, torrential rains, and hallucination-inducing sickness. And, I had to stay in Newark last time, so staying near Times Square made everything just so much better. And that was my trip to NYC.

I can definitely say, that now, I too love New York. I want to go back soon…