26 Hours in NYC

I (Allie) just got back from spending a little over a day in NYC. It was an interesting work trip. Fun, but, well, the city that never sleeps wore me out. And I got 7 hours of sleep. But I kept processing through my first time in the Big Apple (shout out to my friends who used to live in the Little Apple--Manhattan, Kansas).

Anyway, I just got back, but I thought I would write before I forgot the crazy stories.

First, I used my organization's standard procedure to get to the Chicago airport--a car service. However, when I looked out my place's window to see if they were here, I did a double take. You see I saw the front of the car and then it just kept coming. I got to ride to the airport in a stretch limo. All by myself. It was awesome. I guess I'm a VIP the 3rd week on the job!

Anyway, the flight out went well. I was amazed by an older couple who managed to sleep through the entire take off. Now, I, for one, can only sleep on flights when I am dead tired, i.e., returning from a week in Europe. This couple didn't mind all the G-forces of lifting their bodies thousands of feet into the air wake them up. Amazing.

NYC was interesting. I told Abe that it's like Chicago on crack. You see, Chicago's the largest city I've ever been in, let alone lived in. Now I know a place where the streets are actually more narrow, more crowded, and people come even more close to getting hit by cars.

I did, however, have a celebrity sighting--Mr. Joey Fatone--former 'NSYNC-er and "Dancing With the Stars" alum. But, since we were staying in Times Square, we knew we'd likely run into someone cool. It reminds me of the time I saw Louie Anderson in the Fort Myers, Florida, airport. But that's another story.

So after a swanky dinner, I retired to my room where I could actually see the pole the New Year's ball is dropped from. Pretty cool.

I was there for work, which went very well. I hope to be back in 2008 with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. New York, to me, is somewhat sad. All of these Midtown Manhattan people striving for so much yet who really matters is God. It makes me think about the book of Ecclesiastes--it's all meaningless, the book says. Yes, we honor God with our jobs, but so much of Manhattan is workaholism, pride, selfishness, and greed. It's amazing that we humans get such a kick out of Times Square--a place that's filled with billboards to get us to buy stuff! What a trip!

Anyway, I'm home safe and earlier thanks to an open seat on an earlier flight. I can't wait to sit down and watch my favorite Thursday night TV.

Oh, one more thing, I really like the show "Chuck" on NBC. In the show, they talk about a spy store that used to be in the same shopping center as the Buy More. Today, in Chicago, I saw a Best Buy right next to a spy store. Amazing.