Spontaneity : Deliberation

No, don't worry you didn't click on the wrong site. This isn't a dreaded GRE analogy prep-test. But I thought this game would be fun to describe my weekend. Play along and pick the correct answer to the question....come on, I'm making up the question...it'll be easy!


Spontaneity : Deliberation
a. dog : puppy
b. Birthday Cake Remix : Betty Crocker Yellow Cake Mix
c. Jessica Simpson : Paris Hilton
d. All night, unplanned roadtrip to NYC : forethought

Final answer.... Ding, ding, ding...yep, it's D. And it pretty much sums up my weekend. Although I had hoped this summer would include a trip to New York City, I had not put any forethought into planning such an event. So when the opportunity arose around 4 PM on Thursday, June 9th, 2005 to go with a dear friend and a friend of hers (whom I had never met)-- I took it...despite the other plans I had for the weekend. Anyways, I met Whitney and Beth (she had lived in NYC for a year and a half and was ready to go back- she just needed some fellow road warriors to go with her) around 2 AM at a DoubleTree Hotel on the outskirts of D.C. I lefted my car there and hopped in Tina (imagine a dark green/teal Altima with the darkest shade of tint on the windows and a speaker system that takes up half of the trunk).
DAY 1:
We made great time and entered the Big Apple around 6 AM Friday morning. We found Beth's old apt. off 163rd St. in upper, upper west Manhattan. We crashed for a few hours and then headed off to the city. Some highlights from my first day in the city:
*Sammy's Chinese Restaurant- After hiking around Union Square and taking in all the big buildings that enclosed "typical" strip mall stores (e.g. Home Depot -which had columns!!), the vegetable dumplings at Sammy's hit the spot.
*Met Peter and Susan at the French Roast- Two of Beth's friends who are both on staff with Navigators at NYU...I mean that university doesn't really even have a campus, where do they hold their campus meeting??...talk about having to believe God's promise that He "can do more than we ask or believe."
*FREE (yes, somethings are free in NYC) admission to MoMA (Museum of Modern Art)- An attempt to get me in touch with the artist inside of me, I'll let you know if it works. However, MoMa did have some fun pieces to soak in including a pencil sketch of the ocean (incredible), huge Monet painting, and a total elclipse of the "Lemon."
*Chatted on an apt. rooftop within view of the Empire State Building...and acted like it was something we did every night!
****Crispy Duck and Kenny- these two completed the trip. After the day, which seemed like a whole weekend, savoring Thai food and meeting Kenny (a.k.a.- Latin Boy) gave us the extra kick to get us back to the air mattress for some much needed sleep!
DAY 2:
I woke up around 9:00 and couldn't go back to sleep- so I hopped in the shower in full anticipation of the day. Not everyone had those same thoughts...but it's cool, this just gave me some time for reading. We left the apt around 1PM with one other road warrior added to the crew: Megan (friend and occupant of Beth's old room). Highlights from day 2:
*Stanton Island Ferry- What is Lady Liberty made of anyway?? Here we got some good pics. Hope to post them later...we'll see.
*Ground Zero- Left me speechless, and we moved on.
*Mamoun's for lunch around 3ish-here we enjoyed a $2 falafel. Hard to explain what it actually consists of, but they can get it to you before you say "falafel"- and it's yummy!
*1 dozen limit- P.S.- if you're going to Magnolia's Bakery in the West Village to get cupcakes for a party, remember that there is a limit per customer...why because these cupcakes are GREAT! The icing melts in your mouth and on the box but still very delicious. Go for one or two during your stay in NYC, but no more than 1 dozen.
*Mad skills in Central Park- demonstrated by a performer who juggled 2 knifes and an apple (and took a bite out of the apple) while standing on one leg on a handmade seesaw.
*Pizza in NYC- ahhhh, my selection of Buffalo chicken was probably not the best but Emily's (another friend of Beth- yes, we brought the cool kid, who had many cool friends) company was nice
****Flagging down my first taxi- I did it with perfect form, then found out perfect form does not make the lights come on (by the way for those of you like me who have never "caught a taxi," the numbers have to be lit up and the lights on the side must be lit up for you to know it is offering you service). Try number three to "catch a taxi" (I have a new appreciation for people that do this everyday...it's not as easy as it looks) worked the best (The 2nd try was denied by a group of girls that had obviously done this before.) So by that time we had walked half of the way to the theatre, and we payed $3.5o for our taxi ride. But it's all about the experience....right?
* We saw Christina Applegate in her Broadway debut of Sweet Charity...enough said.
*The lights of Times Square and the sugar rush of Birthday Cake Remix from Cold Stone...a great way to end the evening.
Day 3:
Our day of departure had drawn near. But we still had a couple stops to hit up before we left:
*The Journey- Beth's church in NYC. Krispie Kreme and coffee--now that church has found how to bring in the multitudes...jk...but it did work with me! Good service, nice people, if you'll be in NYC on a Sunday check out this place.
*Tom's Restaurant...a.k.a. the restaurant seen on Seinfield. Our server reminded me of my first boss at the bagel shop (who was from NY)..."keep those counters clean, if there's time to lean, there's time to clean."
Last stop for me in NYC was to the Backseat...got to love Tina's speakers from the backseat- rocking. Good contemplation time- got to love roadtrips...thanks God!

That's my spontaneous NYC trip...or at least what I felt compelled to post. No there wasn't much deliberation, forethought, or caution given to the trip ahead of time...but it was much better than I could have planned. Shout-out#1 to Beth, the 2nd best tour guide in the world (1st place is still held by the guide in St. Petersburg- yes, even though I didn't experience her first hand.) Beth did relieve me of having to put any thought into getting around on the subway system and from figuring out where to eat in NYC. Shout-out #2 to Whitney, thanks for calling me and reminding me "we're only in our twenties once."

By the way this will more than likely be my longest blog from here on out...so don't get accustomed to the wordiness.