Exit Stage Left

When I was little I used to love movies that featured the bustling filth of New York. Growing up in relatively small towns, I was absolutely enchanted by the concept of a city that big--the very idea absolutely blew me away. When I was older and got hooked on theatre, knowing that New York was the Mecca I knew that I was destined to live there...even though I'd never even visited.

The first time I traveled to the Big Apple I was in college. I traveled on my own, but met up with my friend, Talia, and her mom when I arrived. Talia and I rode the subway to Times Square and I remember I actually cried when I walked up the steps into the middle of it all. It was unlike anything I'd ever seen: fast, crowded, dirty, smelly, humid--all five of my senses were on absolute overload; I loved it. I've visited more than a dozen times since then and every time I love it more and more, I discover new things to love, and it becomes less and less overwhelming.

When I was planning my trip to Spokane for the big reunion I decided that I was going to take off some extra time for work, because....well, because I deserve it. Because I needed a break.

I know myself well enough to know that had I just stayed in Denver and enjoyed five days at home and out of the office the guilt of not being there would've been overwhelming. I would've wound up checking my e-mail every 15 minutes and listening to voicemail obsessively--that's no way to spend a vacation. So, I decided that another short trip was in the cards. I haven't been to New York since New Year's so the destination was an easy decision.

I was planning on leaving Tuesday morning and originally planned to come home on Friday, but after thinking about it, decided that coming home Thursday would be quite sufficient. I got home from Spokane on Monday afternoon and had less than 24 hours to get my shit together and get out of here...again. For some reason I had it in my head that the NY flight left at 11:40 on Tuesday morning. I think I mixed that up with the arrival time, 4:40, but that's neither here nor there at this point, the point is I got to the airport very late and missed the cut-off time to check my bag by one minute. The ticket agent I got was not the friendliest, but at least she got me checked-in quickly and I was on my way to the gate in no time. Of course, Murphy's law set-in and security was backed-up making me even later. When I reached the gate they were already boarding and I barely made it. The ramp agents were much nicer, though, and already had my seat assigned and my boarding pass ready. I got on the plane and off I was.

I spent most of the flight worrying about whether or not my bag would make it to LaGuardia with me, but when we landed in New York my bag was there with me, no problem. *sigh* What a huge relief. Trekking back out to the airport would not have been fun.

I jumped on the bus to Manhattan to meet Tals at the Lincoln Center. After dropping off my bag I wandered to Times Square to see what show I might be able to get into that evening. I settled on "The Drowsy Chaperone" and then settled into my seat mere moments before the lights went out. After the show I met Talia again and we went back to her place.

Wednesday morning we both had a grand plan of getting up and taking in a matinee before Tals had to head to work. I slept later than I'd planned on but still managed to make it to Times Square in time to have the ticket agents at both "The Color Purple" and "Jersey Boys" laugh at my attempt to get a ticket. In the end, after consulting with a co-worker who was also in the city, I ran over to the Imperial Theatre (thanks for the directions, Tals) and bought a ticket to "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" at five minutes to curtain. After I squished my way into my fourth row center seat I nearly fell asleep during the second act. That show is so bloody long, but mostly enjoyable.

As I was walking up 8th Avenue that afternoon, after the show, I literally ran into my co-worker, John, who was in town previewing some shows. It's a trip when, in a city of 8 million + people, you see someone you know randomly on the street. We made plans to check-in with each other later that evening and try to meet up for a drink or something.

After walking back to the August Wilson theatre and again being laughed at for trying to see "Jersey Boys" I settled on seeing "[title of show]" off-Broadway at the Vineyard, the same show John was seeing that evening. I managed to navigate my way to the theatre off Union Square (thanks again, Tals), waited for the box office to open, got my ticket and then realized that it was 6:00 and I had yet to eat anything that day. Dinner was definitely a necessity. I decided that a sandwich from Whole Foods eaten while sitting in Union Square Park was just what I needed.

As I stood in line at Whole Foods (for 20 minutes) I had a lightbulb moment. Perhaps part of the reason that New Yorkers are always going so fast is because once they get where they're going there's inevitably a wait. They have to move quickly to make up for all the waiting: waiting in line, waiting for the bus or subway to arrive, waiting while riding, etc. There's a lot of wasted wait time when you're a New Yorker.

I walked back over to the Vineyard and found my seat. A few minutes later John came in and much to both of our surprise he was seated two seats away. The guy next to me gladly exchanged seats with him and we wound up being able to sit together, which was, again, a bit of a trip. After the show we grabbed a quick drink before venturing back Uptown.

Thursday morning I met Jennifer for breakfast at a quaint little place on the Upper East Side.
I haven't seen Jen in years. My lack of ability to keep in touch with her disgusts me, I've got to get better. (Jen, if you're reading this, please forgive me and let's be better about that). I then went back to Tals' to hang out for awhile before beginning the long journey home. I first had to meet Talia and return her keys then find my way back Uptown to catch the bus back to the airport. As I was riding up to the Bronx on the 6 train I ran into a girl with whom I went to college. I didn't know her that well then, but we were in the same major, so we had classes together. She wasn't my favorite person and she didn't recognize me, but it was, again, very strange to see her. I just think stuff like that is weird. I mean, if she has just gotten on one car behind or in front of me, I never would've seen her. I wonder how many people I know that I've missed by such a small margin?

My return flight was delayed, because of an impending storm, making the inbound flight late. Once we were on board we were stuck taxiing on the runway as "number 34 for take-off" for more than an hour. Once we were airborne they decided there were too many planes in the sky so we were placed in the holding pattern. Then we were finally on our way. Considering all that we were less than an hour late getting into Denver, but then construction on I-70 made my drive home a long one.

Every time I go to New York I fall in-love with it a little more. I'm not sure I'd want to live there forever, but I've got to give it a try. When I turned 25 I gave myself a deadline of getting there by the time I was 30. Since I turned 28 last week the clock is definitely ticking. I still can't quite figure out how to make it happen, but I have faith in something that when the time is right, when it's meant to be, I'll be there. Maybe the waiting is priming me for all the waiting I'll have to do when I'm a New Yorker.