Drank a cup o' reality at 6:31 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 01, 2003
I’m a really bad teacher. When I left work this afternoon I gleefully left a large stack of essays to grade. Clearly I will have to tackle them this week, just not tonight.
New York was completely amazing. How have I lived my whole life and never been there? I feel so uncultured, so uneducated, so inexperienced. I won’t beat up on myself too much as I did grow up with the wonders of LA and San Francisco, wonders that many never see. But, all the same… New York! I am sure that I didn’t really sleep the whole time I was gone. Oh, I lay down at night and closed my eyes, but I can’t have slept. On Saturday as I boarded the bus for Newark I realized my exhaustion… I understood the meaning of Painfully Tired.
Sunday I slept until 3 PM. At no point did I feel bad for it… the only bummer was that it did interfere with last night’s sleep.
So, the highlights of my trip are as follows. It was understandably whirlwind and overwhelming. Rachel and I are already crafting my “next” trip (although considering the financial state I returned to that will be in quite a while.)
· Rachel and Daniel live across the street from The UN. Yep, that UN!
· We slumber partied… laying in her bed we determined that possibly the last time we did that was in high school. Fun that we still slept on “our” sides of the bed. We must have slept together 1,000 times throughout our years… amazing that we have been apart so long. I love her dearly. Something about someone who you have known and loved since you were 12. Someone who knows completely the importance of a pair of “Banana Boots.” … her single best day of skiing, a few major twists of fate, a few big choices, ironic that they don’t fit her anymore, amazing that she would offer them to me. At some vague point in time between this year and the last we passed the threshold of knowing each other longer than we hadn’t. Hmm…
· It rained, all day Friday as we walked through NYC.
· I rode the subway, lots and lots
· The Guggenheim is a really cool building, but I didn’t need to see the display (is that bad of me?) I did shop for Mary and my Goddaughter in the gift shop.
· Rachel took tons and tons of pictures of me. So, many that by the end of the weekend I felt like the gnome in Amilie.
· The Met is spectacular! Spectacular! We spent a long time there and I could have spent so much longer. I shopped there for Mom, Brett, Emma, and me. Rachel bought me a great print too. It is on the top of my See Again list.
· Central Park: Hans Christian Andersen, Alice in Wonderland, the Bow Bridge, lunch at The Boat House, Ponds and Lakes, and The Mall. It was just exactly as beautiful as I imagined it.
· Rachel is this great tour guide. She knew all of these cool stories and all of this history. I was trying so hard to absorb it all… it is so totally obvious that she loves this city. New York and Rachel were meant for each other.
· The lobby of The Chrysler Building. Very Art Deco.
· Grand Central Station. Vast. We went to the Campbell Apartment there later Friday night for drinks with Daniel and his friends. It was very shi-shi.
· The Plaza
· 5th Avenue… all of the windows in the shops: Bergdorff Goodman, Sax 5th Avenue (Hello! ON 5th AVENUE!!!) Macys, Bloomingdales…. So cool
· And then there was Tiffany’s. Yes, that Tiffany’s. It was crowded, but exactly as I had imagined. We walked around and lusted. On the 2nd floor, Rachel decided that we needed to try on Engagement rings. Or, rather, that I needed to try them on. So, of course I did. I tried a 1-carat, a 1.3-carat and a 2-carat. I kid you not, the stone actually danced on my finger. I stood there completely mesmerized… beautiful. Oh, yeah, and it costs exactly 1 year’s salary.
· Rachel went shoe shopping at Nine West… super cute boots. Yay suede!
· Dinner at a lovely Italian Restaurant where the little waiter talked about the food in the same way he would describe a woman he loved. And it was that good. So was the wine.
· Did I mention in here that I love Rachel’s boyfriend. He is like family, comfy, funny and perfect… I can hardly believe that I have only met him twice. Daniel is a gem.
· Saturday was tremendously windy. I was compelled to see Lady Liberty. But, getting there was half the battle! My God, windy doesn’t even cover it. Rachel nearly lost her hat. We could barley walk… but I can attest to Mom and all that Lady Liberty and Ellis Island still exist.
· Dim Sum in Chinatown was the site for potentially the only picture of Rachel and I together (except the one we took together on the subway). We met more of Daniel’s friends… I ate strange looking food that Rachel raved about (this from a woman who lived in Taiwan).
· We went haggling on Canal Street… no one will be any the wiser!
· Rockefeller Center. I looked in the Today Show windows! It was a highlight. They were setting up for the Christmas Tree lighting. We saw the skating rink. Somehow, despite the size it was all smaller than I imagined. But, I was there; I can say that I was there. And this morning as I watched my 5 minutes of the Today Show I thought “I was there! I saw those chairs!”
· I bought Gretchen and Mr. Math presents at the NBC Store.
And that was nearly it… I think I caught the big points, although I keep remembering bits and pieces. Suffice to say it was the perfect vacation.
Yet, I am so happy to be home. There is a lot to figure out in the next 3 weeks, but mostly I am happy and happy to be here.
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Old Married Lady
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Miss Spunky is:
a 25 year old English teacher currently on an extended adventure in Minnesota, searching for a good man with a big... truck!
I love:
My students, excessive amounts of coffee, Baja Fresh and a good hockey game.
I dislike:
Ignorance, mosquitoes, and people who write in IM and/or grammar so poor that it is clear that they are lazy. IM is LAZY, LAZY do you hear me???