Hanging with the Neighbors in NYC

I was awake just before 430am but decided to steal just a little more sleep. I let myself sleep for another ten minutes. Up for good at 440am, I quickly brushed my teeth then completed sit-ups and push-ups.

Now wide awake, I downed some orange juice then did a quick meditation and a stretch. Headed to the fitness center at 501am.  Only one other person in the fitness center, some spindly older guy. Got a bad vibe from him after he got uncomfortably close up behind me as I mounted a treadmill. I gave him a disapproving look to which he heeded and moved on. Not sure what the heck that was about. A couple minutes later he left the fitness center.

I did my run while watching ESPN, mostly Friday night football/baseball highlights. Time passed quickly. The 3.2 mile run was done and over with in about 30 minutes. Worked up a good sweat. While it’s cool in the fitness center, it’s also humid, just like it has been outside.

Back in the room for a shave and a shower before 535am. Ready to go even before 6am. Took my time making last minute preparations.  Stopped in the café for a coffee and a muffin, this time a banana walnut. Natalee was already waiting by the escalator. Dave was down a minute or two later. Off to the subway we went.

As expected, the subway was sparsely populated. We joked about having the subway car all to ourselves. With few exceptions, everybody walking the streets of the financial district at 645am looked to be fellow employees. Fewer rowdy’s out that early, too. Thank goodness!

Almost everybody came to work in jeans, just like me. And everyone was in good spirits too. Lots of talk about what each of us was planning to do on Sunday, our only day off.  Sadly, the weather forecast wasn’t looking too good. Expecting heavy rain from Saturday night through Monday evening. Almost like a bad joke.  A guy staying at another hotel gave me one of the blue Pure Cleaners laundry bags left at his hotel. Turns out, Stacey, another girl staying at the Grand Hyatt had all five of ours. No wonder the front desk couldn’t find them.

I stayed busy all morning, and was busier than I’d been all week. Went down for breakfast at 830am. Picked out a couple more muffins, only this time lemon poppy seed. Also grabbed a fresh cup of coffee and couple foil orange juices.

The morning went quickly. Took a break and called Mindy mid-morning. She wasn’t in the best of spirits. Seemed like she was frustrated that I wasn’t melancholy. On the contrary, I was in good spirits and looking forward to a much deserved day of rest. Agreed to talk again later. Encouraged her to go party with the neighbors, who were having a bunch of friends over to celebrate Makayla and Lillian’s birthdays.

Texted neighbor Pat mid-day to learn what they planned to do that evening. I already knew they’d be leaving for home sometime Sunday. He confirmed they’d be leaving at 2pm Sunday, and said they’d be hanging out in Time Square somewhere that night. Agreed to talk/text later.

The day went fast. And while it was sunny early on, thin clouds were slowly but surely moving in from the SW. As late afternoon approached, several work peeps organized an outing at a midtown rodeo bar. Planned to meet up around 830pm. I thought I might join them but only after spending a little time with Pat & Lisa.

Got a text from Mindy late afternoon sharing that she almost bought herself a ticket to Manhattan that would’ve left CMH around 2 or 3pm. In the end she thought better of it. We talked again some time that afternoon.

Started to pack it in around 630pm. Everyone was looking forward to our day off. Some were talking about sleeping in, while others talked about going out on the town. Dave made copies of a map to the rodeo bar with subway instructions.

Aside from all of us, there weren’t too many others out on the town until we neared the

Fulton St

terminal. Subway home was only slightly less crowded than a normal work day. I was a little surprised. Guessing the MTA folks run fewer trains on weekend days. We were back at the hotel by 725pm.

Just before calling Mindy, I sent Pat a text asking where they planned to hang out that night. Called Mindy, who was at the neighbors hanging with our peeps. I could tell by her speech that she’d been drinking. She was in far better spirits. Talked with Bella, too, but not for long. She was busy having fun with her friends. Mindy said both kids were staying the night there.  

Talked briefly with neighbor Kenny, too. He joked about Tiger Wood missing the cut at the PGA championship this weekend, and then shared his opinion of our situation in NYC. Talked a minute or two longer with Mindy. She asked that I call her back once I was home for the night.

Now near 8pm, I freshened up in preparation for a night out. I decided not to change clothes, though should’ve changed into shorts.  Pat returned my text indicating that they were at a pub near

55^th St

&

8^th Ave.

called Rumors. I glanced at my subway map then headed off. Looked like I could take two trains and get pretty close. I caught the Time Square Shuttle in Grand Central. That was easy.

Once I got to Time Square I had no idea which train to catch north. I decided not to fool with it and took to the streets on foot. I needed to head north about 8 or 9 blocks then west a couple more. Being Saturday night, the crowd was incredibly thick, far more than Wednesday night. But since I was alone, I was free to navigate the crowd without worry of losing anyone with me.

Once I got passed the heart of Time Square it was far easier to navigate. It gets a little seedy once you get above

52^nd St.

I got to what I thought was 55^th and 8^th St and then gave Pat a call. Didn’t see any place named Rumors. He agreed to walk out to greet me.

A few seconds later I realized that I was at 55^th and Broadway. Needed to be one street further west. Add to that, they were actually on 56^th, not 55^th St.  I was a tad anxious as the streets in that area were pretty dark. Started to sprinkle too. Great! Finally, I spotted Pat standing at the corner. I asked for a quick photo of the two of us. We walked back to the bar, a small neighborhood type pub.

Pat introduced me to the young server, whose name I’ve since forgotten. She was friendly and fetched me a beer menu. I was much looking forward to a cold beer after 76 hours of work. Pat’s family had a table tucked back in a corner. Greeted everyone: Lisa, Alaina, his brother Greg and his new girlfriend, Tracy. Greg’s daughter was there too. Can’t recall her name, but she was sharp as a tack, cute and friendly, too.

I ordered a Sierra Nevada pale ale. Went down easy, but took my time to savor the flavor. Greg looked like he could fall asleep any minute. Got the idea that they’d been drinking most of the day. After all, they were on vacation. Pat was just finishing up a steak. Our visit was relatively brief, but fun. They shared stories about there 4 days in Manhattan. Sounds like they did quite a bit.

Took a photo of the entire clan just before we headed our separate ways. It was just before 10pm. I walked briskly through the crowd making my way back to the Time Square subway terminal. There I caught the

Grand Central/Time Square

shuttle back to Grand Central. Sent Natalee a text letting them know I was on my way. Once back at Grand Central, I reviewed my map. Looked like I could take the downtown subway #6 to

28^th St.

I waited patiently and then asked someone that looked smart and trustworthy what shuttle I should take to get to 28^th and 3^rd Ave. He concurred, take the #6 downtown.

Waited, waited, and waited. Finally realized a paper poster on the pole advising that the #6 was moved to the #4 for the weekend. But with each train I checked on the express track, they were all headed to Union Sq –

14^th St.

After checking 4 or 5 of them in a row, I decided to bag the Rodeo bar. I wouldn’t have lasted very long anyway. I was starting to get sleepy as it was.

I quickly put together plan ‘B’. I walked over to Duane Drugs right across

Lexington Ave

where I bought a six-pack of Brooklyn East India Pale Ale and a travel sized umbrella. I headed back to the hotel where I picked up eight more of their yummy buffalo wings. I headed back to my room with all my goodies.

Felt good to get out of my clothes. Slipped into my PJ’s then cracked open a beer and dug into my wings. The beer and wings hit the spot. I called Mindy at some point. Guessing it was nearing 11pm. Talked for a while. Mindy was all but asleep when we ended our call. She sounded relaxed. After our call, I cracked a 2^nd beer. Shouldn’t have. I woke a few minutes later realizing I hadn’t even touched it. I plugged it with toilet paper and put it in the fridge. Good Night Princess!