Just to follow up with last blog real quick... I went home to Washington state for Christmas and had an absolute blast with my friends and family!! I got to relax for the most part and yes...that includes getting a little bored when everyone went to sleep! LOL!
I took my Gram out for our scheduled date and although we didn't get to see the movie she wanted to, we went for a great lunch at a local favorite The Masthead! We had a great conversation about the facts of life and the sad part of saying goodbye to someone, and then I decided that was enough of that and we needed to celebrate being together! So what better way to do that than to eat the most delicious berry cobbler! YUM!!
It was definitely a great trip home and a lot of decisions were made about my immediate and long term future but you all will have to wait for that! haha.. I know, I'm awful! Soooo.. the REAL point of this entry is to let you all know about the AMAZING time I had last night for NYE!!!
So you know when you are thinking of things to do on a day off and there's that really good movie you've been waiting to see, or that special play or music group is in town and you REALLY want to go ...but you don't. Why is that? What is the biggest reason people don't go do things they are wanting to do, provided they have money to do it...the real reason is there's nobody to go do it with! Their best friend saw that movie with her mother last weekend, or their concert buddy is out of town and or doesn't have the money.. whatever reason it is, I'm here to tell you that it's all bull crap! :)
Last night I went into NYC and saw the ball drop in Times Square ...ALONE!!! I know that seems scary, but it really wasn't. It was incredible! Now, before you all go mama bear on me and lecture me about going out at night by myself you should know that New Years Eve in New York City is one of the safest nights of the year! There may be over a million people there however there are about a half million NYPD walking around on foot and horse! LOL! Besides all of their security, metal detectors, pat downs and no backpack rules....I also have my pepper spray and a good right hook! :)
You guys know that I'm always telling you to LIVE your life! Experience as much as you can, SEE the things you want to see and don't wait on anything. Life is not guaranteed and we all know that, so why not go out and do as much as possible so that when your life ends you can go out saying that you've really LIVED the life you were so fortunate to be given.. Well I know it's repetitive but its SO TRUE!!! This is exactly what I decided to do last night and I will be forever grateful for whoever that voice was in my head telling me to go!
I was able to get off work an hour early and went downstairs to bundle up!! I had heard it was supposed to be in the twenties and knowing I would be standing outside all night, I ended up feeling like the little brother on A Christmas Story!! I had long johns under my jeans, cozy socks in my boots, a long sleeved shirt under a hooded sweatshirt that was then under my big winter coat! I had ear warmers under one of my fav hats and two pairs of gloves! But I will tell you something... I didn't get cold AT ALL! LOL!!!
So I wasn't exactly sure how this was all going to go down, all I knew was that I needed to find the big group of people and fit in there somewhere and that's exactly what I did....eventually!!
The feeling I got while stepping out on Grand Central and feeling that buzz in the air that only NYC has. The electric bolt of excitement for the hours to come was intoxicating!! I was that big dummy grinning from ear to ear as she walked down the street towards the mass of people gathered around! It was a bit challenging trying to figure out where to go and where I wasn't allowed to go.. Streets were blocked and closed, police were everywhere and some people were walking with more direction and confidence than I was. Some people were in their fanciest NYE dresses and heels, others were bundled up like me! Turns out those fancy people were on their way to the big hotel parties which they had tickets to and that's why they were allowed on the blocked streets when the rest of us weren't!
When I was passing Bryant Park I looked up and saw the ball!!! I about fangirl'd over it and then laughed at myself while I kept walking into the crowd! Everyone had somewhere to go and people to meet, and I just tried to blend in with them so I could get a good spot to stand! So eventually I came to a HUGE line.. I wasn't sure what the line was for but I knew that was the area people were headed towards to get to the ball drop so I followed everyone. Well, it turned out that there was a smaller line on the other side of the big one and I was pretty sure it was all going to the same spot. I got into line and immediately made some friends.. A couple from Australia in front of me and some teenage kids from Japan behind me, that made for some interesting conversation! LOL!
We came to the front of the line and was patted down, the metal detector wand was waved and bags were searched and then I WAS IN.....or so I thought!
Everyone was saying we were in the pen that we should be in, but I couldn't figure out how I wasn't huddled up with all the people. I was just walking down the sidewalk and there was another pen that actually had people standing there waiting. My new mission was to find the opening of the pen, but first I had to find a bathroom! It's common knowledge that once you're IN the pen, you can't leave! If you leave, you can't come back and I didn't want that to happen. I walked for blocks and couldn't find any restaurants with working toilets (they can pretend, but I know the truth), Finally I found the entrance to THE pen and a nice little café restaurant right beside it! The sign on their door read that Restrooms were available for customers only, so by golly....I had dinner! LOL!
Once my $30 Sandwich and $15 cup of soup were consumed and facilities were used, I headed to the pen!! This was actually a REALLY cool part!! There were LOTS of the different pens divided up depending on which block you were at! The Ball was on 52nd and the entranced was at the corner of 57th. So the way it worked was every time someone was opt out and leave (MANY people did.. they couldn't handle waiting) then we all got to move up to the next block! So I would talk to people around me, make friends and then have to move up and make new friends! It was like speed dating! LOL! So my actual standing and waiting time was about 3 hours and it surprisingly went pretty quick and I managed to get up to 53rd by the end of it!
I'll tell you what though...after everything it took to get there and find where I was supposed to be, that final countdown was FANTASTIC!! Such an amazing feeling to know that I was experiencing in THIS moment, something that I had dreamed about since I was old enough to know what New York City was! I sang with bums on the street, held hands with a 14 year old Japanese exchange student while snuggling to break the wind chill, I shared my hand warmers with a cute boy that wasn't at all interested in me and helped an old couple stay warm while they celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.. THESE are the things I will think about when someone tells me I shouldn't do things by myself..
Of course you have to be smart about it, don't go shady places in the dark, carry your pepper spray, know where you are going and always have a charged cell phone but good grief, GO DO IT!!!
Do I want to go out and do things alone ALL the time.. NO, I LOVE MY FRIENDS!! But life as a New York live in means that not all your friends are on the same schedule as you, and most of your family members are thousands of miles apart. I do what I have to do, and nothing will stop me from this amazing adventure that I'm on!!
I hope you all had an amazing Holiday season and got to love on your loved ones, because life is short and we all could use an extra hug every now and then!!
Thanks for humoring me and letting me gush about my exciting night and I also want to thank those of you who kept telling me to update my facebook and twitter last night! That made me so happy!!
I better get to bed now...Work in the morning!!
Love you guys!!! Until Next Time!!!
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