ok, so you've probably already heard by now that my first
trip to the big apple was a blast. i'm gonna attempt to recap
it now while it's still fresh in my mind.
27
years old and never been to new york? been to 7 countries all
around the world, but never new york? Frenchi, your
best friend
from childhood, who's visited you in LA several times, lives
in NYC, and yet you've never been there? YES, sad but
true. it took
me a while to get there this first time, but now that i've been,
i'll definitely want to visit more often.
after
this trip,
i feel like i've grown up a bit more. spending 2 weeks in Frenchi's
world and experiencing
how she lives... really solidified for me that she's no longer
the immaculate 12 year old grown-up that i always saw her
as,
but that she is, in fact, an actual grown-up. she
has been the one
constant in my life--a life where i often find myself lost.
and as always, spending time with her reminds me who i was,
and who
i really am, and that life is good.
i
planned my trip to be in the fall, cuz it's my favorite season.
and unlike socal, the east coast actually has seasons...
so lucky me. the weather was beautiful for the most part--a
little
chilly, just the way i like it, with the occasional shower
to clear the
air... which made for some great site-seeing and plenty
of frolicking in the city. i just love how everything
is a subway stop or
two away, and you really can have anything you want at any
time. i'm gonna miss that about NYC. in theory, i would
be so thin if i lived in the city, from all the
walking
you do, but no... that's quickly counteracted by all the
fabulous food that's available 24/7.
ok,
so you've met Frenchi, and her apartment in manhattan. let's
introduce the next character, Jeff. Jeff is this
kool kat from
long island whom Frenchi is seeing. he's a recent
transplant to LA, and so he's a new friend and neighbor to
me,
and now a business
associate. we both took some time off work to visit
Frenchi and the city. I think he put it best when he said, "even
though you've never been here, you probably feel like you know
this place..." true,
because pretty much every friggin' movie and tv show
ever made was filmed here.
before
i move on, let's meet Bijoux. this character is the one who
made my trip far more interesting
than it
might have been.
you see, Bijoux is Frenchi's misunderstood cat.
and i'm allergic to cats, right? well, apparently not
this cat.
but of course,
i had different issues with Bijoux. she's a cute
little thing, but
she's very territorial and protective of her mommy.
so instead of sneezing, wheezing, and itching the
whole
time, i found myself
in a stand-off with an angry cat every time i tried
to go anywhere in the apartment. especially when
i needed
to go to the bathroom
or leave the bathroom, there she was, in my path,
ready to pounce on me with those sharp claws. she
got me good
a few times. it
was a daily occurrence. and there was nothing i
could
do about it because
i was deathly afraid to touch her for fear of breaking
out in a rash or getting a limb ripped off. i
have to say i've never met a cat quite like Bijoux.
i'm sorry we couldn't be better friends.
Day
1 was site-seeing, shopping, and karaoke with Frenchi. Enter
Vickie. Vickie is Frenchi's little
sister who
now lives with
her in manhattan. she was always a little girl
to me, but she also,
is now old enough to drink. what a trip. and
as it turns out, Vickie is a closet karaoke whore.
blows
me out of
the water.
Day
2, Jeff arrived and took us on a whirlwind tour of new
york nightlife. we hit 3 clubs in one night:
a schmancy
hotel party,
then a big rockin' club, and then his favorite
little hot spot.
by the time
we hit club #3, i was in my usual "falling
down mode" and
feeling no pain. the late night grub in chinatown that followed really hit the spot. this never
happens in
LA. it was around
6:00 am when we finally got back to the apartment,
and i passed out,
not knowing how i got there, and not remembering
half the stupid things i did that night. but
i know i had
a fun. we
always have fun!
i
don't know how we did it, but the next day, we mustered up
the energy to get up and head
to MoMA.
got some
fun pictures there.
i also met up with an old friend from high
school, Adam, who
i haven't seen since then, and we played "what
ever happened to..." over a fancy dinner.
the next few days were filled with more fabulous
dining, shopping, site-seeing,
bar hopping,
late night munchies... including my first mecca
to white
castle, thanks to Jeff. good times!
i
*heart* NY! this town really is very much alive, and the people
in it know where they're going...
they know
their
purpose. a
local girl asked me if i'd experienced any
of the new york stereotypes yet. and i replied that
the
people
here are
surprisingly considerate,
much nicer than Angelino's by far. but i think
i knew that. cuz all my friends who come from
the east
coast
are so
nice and chill...
very real and "doody-free."
about
a week into my trip, i accompanied Frenchi
to Rockefeller
Center. i people-watched at
the ice rink while she went
in for an audition. after that, she and i
sat down for what
turned out
to be our very first "sex and the city" lunch.
you know... we consumed a meal together while
discussing life and
relationships
like we've never discussed before. sure we
grew up together, B/F/F and all that... but
ever since we went
our separate
ways in high
school, there's been this big gap between us
that's filled up with all the things we don't
know about each
other.
after lunch
on this
day, i felt a new closeness to my dear Frenchi.
later that night: what else but more karaoke!
my
favorite holiday, halloween, was quickly approaching, and we
were really excited because Frenchi and i had never done halloween
together all these years. we scoured the city looking
for costumes but had very little
luck,
being poor and all (dude, costumes are
expensive). we finally settled on the idea of dressing
up as teacher
and student,
cuz i already
had half of the schoolgirl costume with
me,
and we found all the accessories we needed
at GirlProps.
except we
switched roles.
never
in a million years did i think i'd manage
to get Frenchi to dress up as a sakura,
but she
did it.
and the whole
town couldn't help
but think dirty thoughts as we strutted
down the street together in our conservative uniforms.
in
the middle of all this, we broke out in an impromptu fashion photo shoot. i'll post some of those pics as soon as the
photog is done processing them...
it
is now Day 10, the saturday before halloween. after some champagne and photo
ops at
a costume party, we trekked
over to this place
called Crif
Dogs for a late night snack
of bacon-wrapped hot dogs and tater
tots.
it's
this cozy little
underground joint,
which
apparently serves the best dogs in town.
it seemed like everyone in new york who
was wearing
a big
flailing costume
that night
just had to squeeze into this tiny room
all at once.
on
halloween night, we all got dressed up again and attempted
to go see the
big parade,
but
when we got
there it was
so crowded, we literally got immobilized
in a mob of people and thought we
might die there. so we did all we could
to get the hell out and missed the
parade. we
went and
got my
fix for
new york pizza
instead,
followed by... you got it: more karaoke!
my
trip was quickly coming to a close and i hadn't seen a broadway
show yet.
so at
the
last possible
minute,
Frenchi and i hopped
over to the theatre district and
tried to get lottery tickets to see Avenue
Q (a raunchy
musical puppet show
about... life, like
sesame street for adults). we weren't
that lucky, so we bought tickets.
we had an hour before the show started,
so walking around times
square would've
been
a
perfect way
to kill time,
right? wrong.
i made the mistake of wearing shoes
that i didn't know were going to
kill my feet
after
about 40
paces. so we
ducked into a Marriott
bathroom and sat
there in the lounge
for an hour to give my feet a break.
great
show, that
Avenue
Q. friggin'
hillarious. some memorable numbers
include everyone's a little
bit racist sometime and the
internet is for porn. i highly
recommend it. the puppets have sex.
there, don't you wanna go see
it now?
we
followed up the show with yet another late night meal, this
time
at Cafeteria,
where the
boys like
to hang.
then it was time
to go home and pack for my trip
back to LA. my fabulous 2 week vacation
in NYC
was now
over.
everything went
swimmingly... and
even though everyone around me
was sick, i steered clear of any and
all ailments.
until...
i
woke up the morning of my return flight feeling deathly ill.
fever,
nausea, excruciating
body
ache. Frenchi thought
she was
gonna have to take me to the
hospital. maybe my body was trying to tell
me it didn't want
to go
home.
i don't know
what it is,
but this sort of thing happens
to me often enough that i knew
a couple
of
advil would
make it would
go away
within the hour.
and
it did. and i didn't miss my
flight after all. whew! in fact, i finished uploading
all these pics while i sat in the terminal waiting to board
the plane. thank god for advil.
i
didn't really buy much in the way of cheesy NYC gift items.
instead, i brought
Frenchi
with me
back to LA
as a souvenir.
hehe. |
