The Long Weekend

It’s hard to believe that just a year ago I was blogging about the stress and uncertainty of searching for a job. As someone who lives to plan, I hated the unknown. I truly do wish I could go back and tell myself to relax and enjoy my time at home instead of worrying about my future.

Now here I am blogging about my life in the Greater New York City area. My how time flies!

The Long Weekend (Feb. 11-15)

Two weeks ago I was telling my mom how lucky I was to not have been sick since October, so of course, I woke up the next day with one of the worst colds I’ve had in a few years. It was so bad, that after suffering through work that day (without being able to take cold medicine), I had to call in sick the next two days. To make matters worse, I had to venture out into the bitter cold that Saturday for an unrelated doctor appointment and nearly fainted from giving blood.  I also had to figure out how to get both laundry and groceries up five flights of stairs while being unable to breathe through my nose. It was, to say the least, a rather miserable weekend.

Although I was grateful to have five days to recover, it was such a nasty virus that I’m only now starting to feel like myself again.

Feb. 20

After being sick and trapped inside last weekend, I couldn’t wait to get out yesterday. By the time I left my apartment in the afternoon it felt like spring outside. Global warming may have some terrible consequences, but I will never complain about 50 degree temperatures in February!

Liz and I were planning to meet up in the late afternoon, but I decided to head into the city early to kill some time.The second I stepped out of Port Authority I felt like I was drowning in a sea of people. Times Square had been relatively crowd-free for most of winter, but the warmer temperatures meant more people venturing outside.

Normally I’d stay away from Times Square when it’s swimming with such large crowds, but it was actually relaxing to sit in the center of it all and people-watch.

Plus, I was able to snap one last picture (before the finale on Monday) of the huge X Files billboard on display.

When Liz and I finally found each other in Times Square, I was worried it wouldn’t be long before I started getting tired. In the winter, it’s common for me to want to hibernate after 5 p.m., but I guess the warmer temperatures turned me into more of a night owl this time around. I ended up spending 8 hours in the city!

We grabbed a very early dinner at a nearby Potbelly’s that was set to close at 5, a necessary task to prevent me from getting “hangry” during our shopping. (No one wants to see that!)

Since I wasn’t looking to buy anything in particular, I was perfectly content hitting up the stores Liz wanted to stop into along Fifth Ave (which is pretty high above my price range anyway). I tend to have expensive taste, but I take after my parents in that I’m rather frugal with my money.

If I actually need to do some shopping for items I have in mind to buy, I generally prefer to go solo. I usually hit up a lot of stores in a short amount of time to find what I need and rarely linger. Otherwise, I just have a good time window shopping with a friend while keeping my eyes open for any good deals.

Picture below: pausing for a quick picture at Rockefeller Center.

I may have left the city that night with nothing but a full stomach, a Minnie Mouse mug from the Disney Store and painfully sore legs, but the evening out and about was totally worth it!

Who Wants to Date A Senior Citizen?

Anyone who knows me can tell you that I am not a night owl. I’m the person who can be found out and about all day on a Saturday, then curled up on the couch, watching a movie by nightfall. I can’t even blame it on my early wake-up time during the work week. I’ve had the routine of a 60 year old since I was 6. I guess it’s just who I am.

Despite all of this, I decided to attend an evening Anti-Valentine’s Day Party that I had found on Meetup, and invited Liz (with whom I went bowling last month) to join me.

So I dragged myself out of my apartment after dark (gasp!) and hopped on the bus into the city. I was surprised by how busy the Lincoln Tunnel was at 8:00 and jokingly texted my mom: “Do people actually go out at night? I wouldn’t know.”

Luckily the venue was only a short walk from the bus terminal, so Liz and I were able to meet up quickly. Honestly, neither one of us knew what to expect at the event, even after reading the description online.

For the amount of people expected to show up, we were both taken aback at how small the lounge was, even with two floors. I wasn’t surprised that there weren’t a lot of people there when it started, since it was only 8:30. We were immediately approached by a guy who wanted to get to know us.

As more people arrived, we found ourselves mingling with both each other and other guys that had attended. It was interesting to hear everyone’s different life stories and jobs, with fields ranging from medicine and marketing to IT and engineering. Whenever someone asks me about what I do at our magazine, I initially struggle to provide an answer, since I am not part of a particular department at FIRST. My go-to response is, “Well, I can tell you 10 uses for just about any household object you can imagine.”

The only problem with hearing people’s life stories? The music was blasting so incredibly loud that we found ourselves nearly shouting to be able to hear each other. Considering this was an event to meet people, the blaring music seemed to defeat the purpose. Both Liz and I complained about it a few times.

I was honestly surprised by how quickly the night flew by for me. Around 11, however, the place had gotten so crowded that there wasn’t much room to move and I was actually starting to get tired. When you’re not used to going out at night as an introvert, I guess it can quickly wear you out!

On the bus ride back, I was busy thinking about when I was going to squeeze in laundry and grocery shopping the next day…because apparently I’m a 22-year-old senior citizen.

Although it was certainly nice to spend a night out of my apartment, it didn’t really accomplish much in the way of helping me make friends. Next time I think I’ll try a daytime meetup; probably a better fit for an early bird like me!