Last week was a BIG week for me! I did two things that I really thought I would never do...I boarded an airplane for the first time in 10 years (I'm horribly afraid to fly) and I went to NEW YORK CITY!!
Let's chat about the flight first, shall we?....
The anticipation leading up to the day I was leaving for New York was torture...I was a nervous wreck for about three weeks...oh, and by the way...did you hear about the TWO plane crashes in NEW YORK? Sure, the first crash was a miracle...hero pilot Sullenberger calmly and neatly landed his crew and passengers in the Hudson River (I TOTALLY would have FREAKED) and everyone was absolutely fine...but it wasn't that particular story I could focus on...it was the other crash where ALL 49 passengers and 1 person on ground all DIED! So needless to say I wasn't looking forward to my flight to New York and seriously considered backing out of the trip all together (okay, so that's a complete fabrication...I would NEVER give up an opportunity to see Broadway)!! When my boss and his wife picked me up that morning I immediately burst into tears and held onto my husband for dear life...to which he ever so sweetly consoled me by saying, "It's time to put on your big girl panties!" So, tears and all (all 53 pounds of luggage that is) I climbed into the car and I think my boss would agree...the two hour trip to the airport was the quietest I have EVER been!
When we arrived at the airport I could feel my muscles beginning to seize up, I began to sweat with fear and I'm pretty sure my heart was about to beat right out of my chest. So, I did what any smart person would do...I (at 10 o'clock in the morning) went to the airport bar and ordered a BIG glass of their sweetest wine. No kidding...the bartender gave me about a 12 oz glass and when she turned back around to give me my change (about 3.2 seconds later) I slammed the glass on the bar and let out a loud, "aaaaaahhhhhh....Thanks! I needed that!" She was truly speechless. I can't say that the wine really helped calm my nerves...but it certainly made me focus on other things than the flight (like being able to walk in a straight line).
We boarded the plane...I sat in the isle seat, Greg sat in the middle and Becky sat by the window...Greg said that my hands were clenched so tightly that the blood wasn't circulating to my fingers....what did he expect? He and Becky kept encouraging me to look out the window...NO WAY folks...I'm just fine with my head to the floor.
The landing...OH THE LANDING...we were like a bouncing ball on the runway...we would touch ground and then we would lift up, touch, lift, touch, lift...I felt really queasy and seriously came close to ralphing....
FINALLY...we LANDED in NEW YORK!!!! I could hardly contain myself!!! It was unbelievable!! I took my first taxi ride from the airport to our hotel (by the way, our hotel was right smack dab in the middle of TIMES SQUARE)! *As a side note...if you haven't seen the movie The Bone Collector...I strongly recommend you watch it before getting into a taxi...I've seen the movie about 10 times so I was able to warn Greg and Becky to NOT get into a cab where the driver has a miniature skull hanging from the rear view mirror...in the movie the driver took the lovely man and wife to the abandoned train tracks, cut them up into little pieces and buried them. Angelina Jolie found the body parts after Denzel Washington had followed a lead...our driver didn't have the mini skull...but he did wear a turban....
Let's chat about the flight first, shall we?....
The anticipation leading up to the day I was leaving for New York was torture...I was a nervous wreck for about three weeks...oh, and by the way...did you hear about the TWO plane crashes in NEW YORK? Sure, the first crash was a miracle...hero pilot Sullenberger calmly and neatly landed his crew and passengers in the Hudson River (I TOTALLY would have FREAKED) and everyone was absolutely fine...but it wasn't that particular story I could focus on...it was the other crash where ALL 49 passengers and 1 person on ground all DIED! So needless to say I wasn't looking forward to my flight to New York and seriously considered backing out of the trip all together (okay, so that's a complete fabrication...I would NEVER give up an opportunity to see Broadway)!! When my boss and his wife picked me up that morning I immediately burst into tears and held onto my husband for dear life...to which he ever so sweetly consoled me by saying, "It's time to put on your big girl panties!" So, tears and all (all 53 pounds of luggage that is) I climbed into the car and I think my boss would agree...the two hour trip to the airport was the quietest I have EVER been!
When we arrived at the airport I could feel my muscles beginning to seize up, I began to sweat with fear and I'm pretty sure my heart was about to beat right out of my chest. So, I did what any smart person would do...I (at 10 o'clock in the morning) went to the airport bar and ordered a BIG glass of their sweetest wine. No kidding...the bartender gave me about a 12 oz glass and when she turned back around to give me my change (about 3.2 seconds later) I slammed the glass on the bar and let out a loud, "aaaaaahhhhhh....Thanks! I needed that!" She was truly speechless. I can't say that the wine really helped calm my nerves...but it certainly made me focus on other things than the flight (like being able to walk in a straight line).
We boarded the plane...I sat in the isle seat, Greg sat in the middle and Becky sat by the window...Greg said that my hands were clenched so tightly that the blood wasn't circulating to my fingers....what did he expect? He and Becky kept encouraging me to look out the window...NO WAY folks...I'm just fine with my head to the floor.
The landing...OH THE LANDING...we were like a bouncing ball on the runway...we would touch ground and then we would lift up, touch, lift, touch, lift...I felt really queasy and seriously came close to ralphing....
FINALLY...we LANDED in NEW YORK!!!! I could hardly contain myself!!! It was unbelievable!! I took my first taxi ride from the airport to our hotel (by the way, our hotel was right smack dab in the middle of TIMES SQUARE)! *As a side note...if you haven't seen the movie The Bone Collector...I strongly recommend you watch it before getting into a taxi...I've seen the movie about 10 times so I was able to warn Greg and Becky to NOT get into a cab where the driver has a miniature skull hanging from the rear view mirror...in the movie the driver took the lovely man and wife to the abandoned train tracks, cut them up into little pieces and buried them. Angelina Jolie found the body parts after Denzel Washington had followed a lead...our driver didn't have the mini skull...but he did wear a turban....
We spent the entire week (Monday through Friday) in New York..each night we did something different but Tuesday night was the night we saw "Wicked" on Broadway...and I SOBBED (seriously, like uncontrollable crying) all through the end of the play (have I mentioned that I am a drama queen)! The last song in the play, "For Good" really hit home with me...without going into too much detail it's exactly how I feel about the people that own the company I work for...they are very special and I thank God every day for bringing them into my life!
One night we went to Little Italy and ate Italian food...Mmmmmmm....SO YUMMY!
Chinatown...interesting...catch me sometime and I'll tell you the story about my new Gucci and Coach purses (that I think I bought illegally...but you won't tell, right!?) :)
Ground Zero...really not much there any longer...it's a construction zone. But we did see the church across the street...it's where George Washington was inaugurated and when 9-11 happened not a single pane of stained glass was broken...the church was untouched.
I guess I should mention that the entire reason we went to New York was for business....and yes...we did conduct business....it was business by day and all the fun above by night! In fact...the business was SO successful that I'm already planning my return trip in late April!!“If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere,
It's up to you, New York, New York.”
And to wrap things up....I ask you, my adoring fans.....do you see ANY reason why Greg and Becky poked fun of me all week regarding the way I travel???? Something about me packing economy size beauty products and seven pairs of shoes (high heels by the way...nobody told me I would be walking the most I've EVER walked in my life)!!....puh-leese...don't they know that's it's not easy being a princess?? ;)
