It's funny, out of all of my friends, I was always the least facinated with New York City. I came to the city for the first time my sophomore year in high school, and that was enough for me. The next year, when all my friends were getting ready for the 2nd annual trip to the city, I didn't even care to go. Maybe having my mother and aunt as chaperones on the 1st trip ruined it for me (they both swear to this day that they will never spend 12 hours on a bus with a bunch of high school kids again), but I had no interest in going for a 2nd time.
Even when Adam moved here a year ago, he used to say "I never thought that I would be driving down the highway to see the New York skyline in the distance," or "whoever would have imagined I'd end up here?" And for awhile after I moved to NJ, it still wasn't a big deal.
It's funny, some of my friends who've lived here their whole life have never been to the top of the Empire State building, or gone to a Broadway show. After awhile you take it for granted. You can always see it in the distance, but it's not until you're there, amongst the hustle and bustle of the city, until you realize just how amazing it is.
On Saturday I headed into the city for the first time on my own (Jim was nice enough to drive me to the train station). I took the train to Hoboken, took the Path to 33rd, and took the Subway up to 47 & Broadway where I was meeting my Aunt and cousin Andrea for the night. It was such a warm and beautiful day, and Times Square was packed! We were staying at the W Times Square (if you've never stayed in a W hotel, I highly suggest it). We took the subway to the Upper West Side and went to dinner at the same restuarant Kendra, Adam and I ate at 2 weeks ago. After dinner we headed back to Times Square and had a couple beers at the Heartland Brewery. After dinner my cousin and I met up with Jim and Gian, and went to have a couple more beers at a small Irish bar down the street. Andrea was pretty tired, as she woke up at 5:00 to get ready and catch the bus to NYC, so she went back to the room and crashed. Jim, Gian and I went to this trendy bar in SoHo called Bar89. This was probably pretty close to what most people would think of when they think of a bar in the city. It had the coolest bathroom I've ever seen! I won't go into details, because I wouldn't want to ruin it in case you ever get the chance to go to Bar89 for yourselves.
On Sunday morning we walked out our hotel and got into line at the TKTS booth in Times Square. Everyone says you have to line up early but we got there about 15 minutes after they opened, and waited maybe 15 minutes and had no problem getting tickets to see our #1 choice, "Hairspray." After the play we all confirmed that we had made an excellent choice. It was a great musical, and I'll have to make a copy from Adam's mom's CD.
I ended up getting home around 8:30 (thanks again to Jim who was kind enough to pick me up in Hoboken) and crashing by 9:30. Adam suprised me at about 10:15pm, after he returned from his "Boys only ski weekend" in Michigan. Mark and Adam had stopped at Birch Run, and Adam had spotted a pair of ORANGE NIKE SHOX he knew I would love. He suprised me with them when I was 1/2 asleep, but I was estatic nonetheless.
It was a great weekend, filled with great people. I'm very happy to be home though, in NJ. Where I can see the NYC skyline in the distance, and be able to take in all the city has to offer... only when I feel like it.
Monday, January 23, 2006
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
2 weekends in a row...
I was lucky enough to hang out with my best friend 2 weekends in a row. This past weekend Kendra came to NJ. She actually had an interview in Pennsylvania, but flew in and out of JFK airport. When her interview was done they drove her to NJ to spend the weekend with me, instead of flying home on Friday. I was really excited that she had an interview in Pennsylvania, and it gave me hope that maybe one day my best friend wouldn't be over 9 hours away.
On Friday afternoon she got dropped off at my work, and I brought her in and gave her the tour. After work, Kendra, Mason, Kevin and I headed over to meet up with everyone else for Happy Hour. I wanted Kendra to have a good time, so I volunteered to be DD for the night. After Happy Hour, Adam, Kendra, Jim, Walt, San and I continued on to Firewater's in Hackensack. We met up with Kory, Lauren and Darren. It was a ton of fun, and after the bar we headed over to Park West diner to give Kendra the true "Jersey diner" experience. I dropped the guys off at Jims, and we finally got to sleep by 3:30am.
On Saturday morning we woke up and grabbed lunch with the crew at El Chev. We wanted to go into the city afterwards, but due to an afternoon nap (much needed) we ended up heading in at about 5:00pm. We took a couple pictures in Times Square and in front of the Rockefeller Christmas Tree. We wanted to take Kendra to the MSU bar, but it was packed and we couldn't get a table. We walked up Amsterdam a couple blocks and ended up at an AWESOME bar and grill at 83rd. After drinks and dinner we headed to Hoboken to meet up with Walt, Kory and Lauren. We took the train back to Ridgewood and crashed at Adams. His apartment tends to vary from 57-64 degrees, but never a degree warmer than 64. I'm glad that Kendra got to experience the frigidness of Adam's apartment, because he always says "it's not that cold."
On Sunday we came back to my apartment to shower and have bagels with Mason and Kevin. Kendras flight was at 4:10, and we got her to the airport at about 2:15. I was exhausted and just wanted to relax. We picked up food to make for dinner, and crashed pretty early.
It was such a great weekend. It's weekends like these that make me wish that we lived closer to our family and friends. Kendra didn't accept the job in Pennsylvania, and is off to Switzerland for 3 months. She'll be back in May, and hopefully she can get a job in the New York Tri State area... that would make my year!!!
On Friday afternoon she got dropped off at my work, and I brought her in and gave her the tour. After work, Kendra, Mason, Kevin and I headed over to meet up with everyone else for Happy Hour. I wanted Kendra to have a good time, so I volunteered to be DD for the night. After Happy Hour, Adam, Kendra, Jim, Walt, San and I continued on to Firewater's in Hackensack. We met up with Kory, Lauren and Darren. It was a ton of fun, and after the bar we headed over to Park West diner to give Kendra the true "Jersey diner" experience. I dropped the guys off at Jims, and we finally got to sleep by 3:30am.
On Saturday morning we woke up and grabbed lunch with the crew at El Chev. We wanted to go into the city afterwards, but due to an afternoon nap (much needed) we ended up heading in at about 5:00pm. We took a couple pictures in Times Square and in front of the Rockefeller Christmas Tree. We wanted to take Kendra to the MSU bar, but it was packed and we couldn't get a table. We walked up Amsterdam a couple blocks and ended up at an AWESOME bar and grill at 83rd. After drinks and dinner we headed to Hoboken to meet up with Walt, Kory and Lauren. We took the train back to Ridgewood and crashed at Adams. His apartment tends to vary from 57-64 degrees, but never a degree warmer than 64. I'm glad that Kendra got to experience the frigidness of Adam's apartment, because he always says "it's not that cold."
On Sunday we came back to my apartment to shower and have bagels with Mason and Kevin. Kendras flight was at 4:10, and we got her to the airport at about 2:15. I was exhausted and just wanted to relax. We picked up food to make for dinner, and crashed pretty early.
It was such a great weekend. It's weekends like these that make me wish that we lived closer to our family and friends. Kendra didn't accept the job in Pennsylvania, and is off to Switzerland for 3 months. She'll be back in May, and hopefully she can get a job in the New York Tri State area... that would make my year!!!
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
There's no place like home for the Holidays...
Due to some recent criticism (from family and friends) of my lack of recent entries, I am going to attempt to recap the past several weeks. So much has happened between Thanksgiving and the New Year, it seems as though all the holidays are one big giant event, although I was at completely different places for each one.
Thanksgiving
For Thanksgiving Adam and I drove back to Michigan. It was our first trip back in which we didn't fly home. We hit some snow on the trip to Michigan, but it was smooth sailing back to New Jersey. We spent Thanksgiving day at the Lions game (terrible game, but we made it to one this season) and then went to Adam's Aunt Robin and Uncle Jim's house for dinner. Once dinner was done, we headed to my Uncle Bennie's house to celebrate what was left of the festivities. I was able to see my cousin Blair (who is now 15, but looks 25) and my Aunt and Uncle from Florida. It was a short trip home, but it was great to see everyone.
The weekend following Thanksgiving was Adam's Birthday and we went to Ohio for the weekend to spend time with all our college friends. It was a great time. Mark's house is soooo nice and I was suprised to see how clean and neat it was.
The weekends before Christmas, Adam had his friend Brian come in town, and the next weekend we went back to Rochester, NY.
Christmas
As for the past couple weeks, there's a lot more to say. I worked until about 3:00pm on Friday, December 23rd and then headed home to start laundry and packing. Adam and I had a car service picking us op on Christmas Eve at 5:45am. After not getting to bed to after midnight and getting up at 5:45, I crashed when I got home. We went to my Grandmas for Christmas Eve and ate some great good. I was planning on going to church for midnight mass, but decided to get to bed a little early since we had to be at the airport the next day at 6:00am for our flight to Vegas. We made it to the airport in time to get exit row seating, which made Adam a happy camper for the 4 hour flight to Vegas.
We arrived in Vegas on Christmas morning and Adam's parents came to pick us up. It was a very busy couple days but it was nice to be someplace warm (warmer than Michigan and New Jersey anyways) and relaxing. We checked into our room, got situated, ate dinner and relaxed a bit before our first show on Christmas night. We went to see Cirque De Soleil "O" and it was really great. I had no expectations what so ever, and I didn't even know what to expect, so I was amazed at all the cool stunts. Adam wasn't super thrilled, but enjoyed it nonetheless.
We went to the Hoover Dam another day, and walked around the other 3 days. I think I managed to see the majority of the casino's on the strip including O'Sheas where we bought $1 Michelobs for the journey (you can consume alcohol anywhere in Vegas.) We went to see Avenue Q and that also was great. It won the Tony for best musical last year and it's hilarious! Adam also suprised with me tickets to see Celine Dion. He did however fall asleep during two songs, and try to get me to see my tickets right before the show (it was her 1st night back in 3 weeks and there were actually people scalping tickets). I'm gald we didn't sell our tickets because the show was AMAZING!!! I couldn't believe how great she sounded in person!
We had a great time in Vegas, and I didn't end up losing much money (only $50 of Adam's) so I wasn't too upset. Adam said that I was bad luck because all he did was loose money when I was around. Hopefully next time he goes with the guys he can win some of the money he lost during this trip. We left on the 29th, which turned out to be a gorgeous day. We were able to walk around and enjoy the weather until about 3:00 when we headed back to the airport.
New Years
We got home super late on the 29th and spent the 30th running around. I picked up my new pair of glasses and went to my other Grandmas to drop off her belated Christmas gift. We went to National with my sister, Kendra and Skippy for dinner. After National we rented the 0 year old virgin and watched that at my house with my dad. I thought it was hilarious the 1st time I saw it and was even considering buying it. I found out, that unlike Napolean Dynamite it doesn't get funnier each time you watch it, it actually gets less funny.
On the 31st we met up with Mark to watch the Spartan basketball game at BW3's and so of course I got some Spicy Garlic wings. They were very "tasty" and it was awesome to see Mark. After the game Adam and I headed back to my house to get ready for the New Years Eve festivities. After much contemplation, we had decided to go to Barrister Gardens to ring in 2006. It was only $60, and included dinner, champagne and all you can drink. The second we walked in it felt like a high school reunion. Apparently food and endless drinks attracted more than a couple South Lake High School alumni, about 20% of the people at the hall went to high school with Kendra and I. See http://www.kendrasnyder.blogspot.com for more information on that whole aspect of the night.
It was a ton of fun and it was even better than my dad came to pick us all up at 3:00 in the morning. What a great dad!
Looking back, I really miss Michigan and my parents. Sometimes, I even miss my nagging and spastic sister. It was hard to leave, especially since I'm not too sure as to when I'll be visiting again. I think my sister and mom will be coming out at the end of Feb, so that will give me something to look forward to.
The past month has flown by and Thanksgiving feels like it was a year ago. I apologize to all my loyal readers for not blogging sooner, but I can assure you that it wasn't "just a fad" and I'll continue to blog well into 2006.
See above for pictures from Christmas and New Years.
Thanksgiving
For Thanksgiving Adam and I drove back to Michigan. It was our first trip back in which we didn't fly home. We hit some snow on the trip to Michigan, but it was smooth sailing back to New Jersey. We spent Thanksgiving day at the Lions game (terrible game, but we made it to one this season) and then went to Adam's Aunt Robin and Uncle Jim's house for dinner. Once dinner was done, we headed to my Uncle Bennie's house to celebrate what was left of the festivities. I was able to see my cousin Blair (who is now 15, but looks 25) and my Aunt and Uncle from Florida. It was a short trip home, but it was great to see everyone.
The weekend following Thanksgiving was Adam's Birthday and we went to Ohio for the weekend to spend time with all our college friends. It was a great time. Mark's house is soooo nice and I was suprised to see how clean and neat it was.
The weekends before Christmas, Adam had his friend Brian come in town, and the next weekend we went back to Rochester, NY.
Christmas
As for the past couple weeks, there's a lot more to say. I worked until about 3:00pm on Friday, December 23rd and then headed home to start laundry and packing. Adam and I had a car service picking us op on Christmas Eve at 5:45am. After not getting to bed to after midnight and getting up at 5:45, I crashed when I got home. We went to my Grandmas for Christmas Eve and ate some great good. I was planning on going to church for midnight mass, but decided to get to bed a little early since we had to be at the airport the next day at 6:00am for our flight to Vegas. We made it to the airport in time to get exit row seating, which made Adam a happy camper for the 4 hour flight to Vegas.
We arrived in Vegas on Christmas morning and Adam's parents came to pick us up. It was a very busy couple days but it was nice to be someplace warm (warmer than Michigan and New Jersey anyways) and relaxing. We checked into our room, got situated, ate dinner and relaxed a bit before our first show on Christmas night. We went to see Cirque De Soleil "O" and it was really great. I had no expectations what so ever, and I didn't even know what to expect, so I was amazed at all the cool stunts. Adam wasn't super thrilled, but enjoyed it nonetheless.
We went to the Hoover Dam another day, and walked around the other 3 days. I think I managed to see the majority of the casino's on the strip including O'Sheas where we bought $1 Michelobs for the journey (you can consume alcohol anywhere in Vegas.) We went to see Avenue Q and that also was great. It won the Tony for best musical last year and it's hilarious! Adam also suprised with me tickets to see Celine Dion. He did however fall asleep during two songs, and try to get me to see my tickets right before the show (it was her 1st night back in 3 weeks and there were actually people scalping tickets). I'm gald we didn't sell our tickets because the show was AMAZING!!! I couldn't believe how great she sounded in person!
We had a great time in Vegas, and I didn't end up losing much money (only $50 of Adam's) so I wasn't too upset. Adam said that I was bad luck because all he did was loose money when I was around. Hopefully next time he goes with the guys he can win some of the money he lost during this trip. We left on the 29th, which turned out to be a gorgeous day. We were able to walk around and enjoy the weather until about 3:00 when we headed back to the airport.
New Years
We got home super late on the 29th and spent the 30th running around. I picked up my new pair of glasses and went to my other Grandmas to drop off her belated Christmas gift. We went to National with my sister, Kendra and Skippy for dinner. After National we rented the 0 year old virgin and watched that at my house with my dad. I thought it was hilarious the 1st time I saw it and was even considering buying it. I found out, that unlike Napolean Dynamite it doesn't get funnier each time you watch it, it actually gets less funny.
On the 31st we met up with Mark to watch the Spartan basketball game at BW3's and so of course I got some Spicy Garlic wings. They were very "tasty" and it was awesome to see Mark. After the game Adam and I headed back to my house to get ready for the New Years Eve festivities. After much contemplation, we had decided to go to Barrister Gardens to ring in 2006. It was only $60, and included dinner, champagne and all you can drink. The second we walked in it felt like a high school reunion. Apparently food and endless drinks attracted more than a couple South Lake High School alumni, about 20% of the people at the hall went to high school with Kendra and I. See http://www.kendrasnyder.blogspot.com for more information on that whole aspect of the night.
It was a ton of fun and it was even better than my dad came to pick us all up at 3:00 in the morning. What a great dad!
Looking back, I really miss Michigan and my parents. Sometimes, I even miss my nagging and spastic sister. It was hard to leave, especially since I'm not too sure as to when I'll be visiting again. I think my sister and mom will be coming out at the end of Feb, so that will give me something to look forward to.
The past month has flown by and Thanksgiving feels like it was a year ago. I apologize to all my loyal readers for not blogging sooner, but I can assure you that it wasn't "just a fad" and I'll continue to blog well into 2006.
See above for pictures from Christmas and New Years.
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