trip recap

  

I haven't weighed at all in the last few weeks. My appetite is meh so I didn't want to have a full on panic if the number went down. I have been having issues with my fingers and toes going numb as well. My regular follow up appointment with the PCP is in a month. I may see if he will order labs before the appointment to check my B-12 levels as I am sure that is where the issue is. For some reason my fingers going numb bother me a lot more than the toes. Maybe because I am more used to that happening? Dunno. 

Before I left for my trip, I asked my NP friend if she thought a vitamin C shot would give me a little boost. She said it wouldn't hurt, however they are painful and if it were her, she would do an IV. I hate IV infusions so I figured how bad can it be? Turns out, it's bad. I told her to just give it to me in my arm, and it felt like she was shooting it directly into my bone. It was as bad as the hep shot I had to get to deploy. I guess I didn't look too great because she made me sit down and drink some water before I left. It hurt for a few days too. I'm not sure I will be doing that again; I don't think it was worth the payoff. 

For some reason they decided to give us an hour off on Friday afternoon, which worked out well because my focus had long since left me. I was already on vacation time. I got home and started laundry and packed. When I went to check in for my flight, I had an upgrade offer for a steal with my miles, so I jumped on that and got first class for both flights. That being said, I got a free checked bag so I decided to take my full-sized suitcase so I would have room to bring stuff back. 

I had no idea it was spring break last week, but other than the people at the counter taking forever to check bags, getting checked in and through security was quick and painless. I really feel terrible for TSA right now. I know what it's like being a pawn and they had a much better attitude than I would have. The flight was on time, and my suitcase was one of the first to show up on baggage claim. I was going to take the subway to the hotel but since I had the bigger suitcase, I didn't really want to have to fight the stairs, so I booked an Uber shuttle. It was $20 as opposed to the nearly $100 a cab or rideshare would cost. It was very reminiscent of the pre-rideshare Super Shuttle days. They only dropped off at central locations, but it was only a 3-minute walk to my hotel. When I got off the shuttle, I realized I had left my coat at home. Since it was in the 70's I didn't give it a second thought until I got out of the van. I can't say I enjoyed rolling my bag through Times Square but since I had to buy a coat anyway it was worth saving a little money. 

I got checked into the hotel and dropped my bag. The room was tiny but being by myself and for a short trip I wasn't too picky. My plan was to head to 5th Avenue and do some shopping. Given my general lack of direction and the whole having no clue where I am thing, it took me a little bit to get my bearings, but I finally got it figured out. My first stop was the TKTS booth. I had purchased tickets to Death Becomes Her earlier, but I got an email saying 2 of the leads were out that day and they offered refunds. I decided to get a refund and see if I could get better or cheaper seats there. The TKTS booth had an insane line, and the theater was like a block away, so I decided to just go up to the box office. I ended up getting a good seat for half the price. From there I headed to the Adidas flagship store to see about getting some personalized shoes. It was busy but I got the pair I wanted and went to drop them off. The personalization area closed at 6 and it was about 5:30 so that worked out. The people in front of me, however, had 5 pairs of shoes that they wanted done so I felt like I was in line forever. I finally got that done, paid for it, and headed to Abercrombie. I never shop there but I saw somewhere online that they have NYC-only exclusive clothes and one was an adorable sweater that I wanted. I found the store easy enough, but they only had it in a men's large, so I obviously passed on that. They did have a couple of sweatshirts that I liked so I got those and picked one up for my sister. I looked for a coat but didn't see anything I liked. When I went to check out, my debit card declined. I have been having issues with it lately not going through at certain gas stations and not working when I am out of town, so I need to make a note to call my bank. I tried to use my credit card, and it declined as well. I am glad I thought to bring cash because I just paid and went on, albeit a little embarrassed. I barely made it out of the store when I got a text from the credit card company asking if that was me trying to make a charge. UM, yes, thanks for nothing. At least I was able to verify it was me and could use the credit card for the rest of the visit, I guess. I made another stop at Zara where I found a really cute suede jacket for a reasonable price and decided to head back to the hotel, grab some street pizza, and drop my bags before the show at 8. I made a little side quest to see the ice rink at Rockefeller Center. 

The show was hilarious. Really glad I got a coat though! I stopped at the Hershey store and got a melted Reese's peanut butter cup hot chocolate. It was a little tricky to drink but it really hit the spot. My plan was to go down to see the public art exhibit on the billboards at 11:57 but I started to doom scroll and the next thing I knew it was midnight. I took a quick shower, got in my PJs, and was sound asleep before I even combed my hair. 

Sunday, I got up earlier than I thought I would, so I decided to take the subway to Chinatown because 1- I had never been and 2- they have salons that do cheap blowouts that are supposed to do great work. I googled it and it looked like the salon I had in mind opened at 8:30. I was the second person there and it was so worth the trip. The shampoo and neck/shoulder massage were worth it by themselves. It turned out cute, but the style fell out faster than I would have liked. It was also windy and I was outside in it, so I couldn't really complain. 

I had a tattoo appointment scheduled for 11. I didn't have a great feeling about it. I had made the appointment in early February based on a Google and AI search and liked the place. I had a text conversation with whoever set up the appointments and I explained that I was only there for a few days and had a very limited window of time, and asked if they could make that work. They assured me it wasn't an issue and sent me the portfolio of the artist I was scheduled with. All good. That was until the week before I left. I got a text saying the artist had something come up and asked if I could do another time or date. I sent a text back saying yeah, that's a no. I would cancel if they returned the deposit I had made. I got a message back saying that deposits are non-refundable, but they had another artist available at 1:30 that day. I asked them if they needed me to send a copy of the original text that told them of my availability when I first set up the appointment. The entire purpose of the trip was for the show I was going to see at 3:00 that day and I wasn't going to be rushed and anxious about missing it because of them. They knew this when they took my money. If I had been the one to request the reschedule, I would have had no problem forfeiting my deposit, but they are the ones that need it moved, and the new time did not work for me. Of course they found someone to do it. I asked them to send the portfolio and told them I would only agree if I was satisfied with the work. The shop had great reviews and I had looked through all the work when I made the appointment, so I didn't think it would be an issue, but I was not in the mood to be accommodating. They sent the link, and he was probably better than the first person, so I agreed. I'm glad I stood my ground on the time because he was SSSLLLLLOOOOWWWW. I didn't get out of there until after 1:00. I had planned on meandering back towards 5th Avenue to pick up my shoes from Adidas and make a quick stop into the Tiffany flagship. Probably for the best that didn't work out. I ended up getting an Uber to the store to get my shoes and walked back to the hotel. I had hoped to be able to stop at Drama Bookshop but couldn't make that work. I got back to the hotel, ordered room service, and started to get ready for the 3:00 show. Not sure how they decided to put straight up wasabi-level spicy mustard on my smashburger, but it was way too much. I was able to salvage a little and eat some of it so I would have something on my stomach before the emotional rollercoaster I knew was coming. 

The theater was a couple of blocks away, but I got there a little early because I knew the show was sold out and was going to be crazy. I was right. I forgot how tiny those theaters are and trying to get all those people into their seats was a cluster. Plus, the ushers were really trying to show people their seats one group at a time. They had me go out to another aisle to get to my seat when my seat was in the middle of the row, so it really didn't matter, but it took me 10 minutes to get back out to the main flow and fight my way to the other aisle. The energy was a vibe. From the minute Pony came through the audience through a lot of the first act, there was a lot of applause and whooping. The guy that plays Daryl already had a puffy face and red eyes so I knew he had been crying. One of the Soc girls had already cried off her eyelashes and in one of the first scenes, where she didn't really face the crowd, I could see her wiping her eyes. Despite that, they were really in it and you couldn't tell they were emotional during the songs. The Soda character has some pretty funny lines in the first act and he really seemed to lean into it, doing some things I hadn't seen the character do before that had everyone rolling. Then the second act started, and I think people were crying almost as soon as the curtain went up. I held it together and thought to myself, "self, maybe this is the first time you don't cry." I was wrong. If you aren't familiar with the book or movie, as soon as the church catches fire and the overly emotional part starts, the actors begin to openly cry. That was a gut punch. The last scene was brutal and if there was a person in the building that wasn't crying, I would put money on them being a heartless, soulless monster. There were a few touches that if you hadn't seen the show before you might not even notice, but most of the people there are super fans and notice everything, lol. So there were times when there were audible gasps. The curtain call at the end was wild. So many tears and hugs. All of them were crying, a few full on ugly crying at that point. I was a mess. I was so glad I was able to go and will probably never experience anything else like it. 

Leaving was another chore. From what I understand, people who didn't have tickets lined up at the stage door an hour before the show let out. It was insane. It was about 5:45 and I had my last show at 6:30. I pushed my way through and stopped to get a drink since I was pretty well dehydrated by that point. I had plenty of time and was able to sit back, get my usual new-show magnet and a sweatshirt, and settle in for Oh, Mary! It was the perfect thing to see after so much sad. It was incredibly funny and campy. It portrays Mary Todd Lincoln as a snarky alcoholic trying to get back on stage while her husband won't let her follow her dreams of being a cabaret star. Abraham Lincoln is very much using her to hide his sexuality, and to get her to stop complaining and drinking, he sets her up with a chaperone named Louise and an acting teacher named John Wilkes Booth. I snort laughed through the whole thing. When I got back to my hotel, I realized I had mascara down my face from one or both of the shows. It was still early so I freshened up and went out to a few of the stores at Times Square. I found a few more exclusive sweaters and shirts and tried to figure out what I wanted to eat. I consulted the internet and found a piano bar not far past the Richard Rodgers Theater that got great reviews and had food, so I headed there.

I got a bar seat, and a drink called a sexy mama and some chicken tenders, because of my refined toddler palette.  I ended up talking to two people at the bar who work there and we had a great conversation and exchanged socials.  They are both great performers and I had a really good time.  I ended up going back to my hotel around 10:45 to pack and get ready to leave the next day.  I almost missed the public art thing again but caught the last 45 seconds or so.  I wasn’t as impressed as I could have been.  I thought they synched up all the billboards but it wasn’t all of them.  It was still neat.  I will try it again next time I go if it isn’t 20 degrees. 

I slept a little later Monday, so I didn’t have time to do much, plus it was raining and foggy.  I have a ton of rewards points from Chik fil a so I got a free chicken biscuit at the jesus chicken a block away and got ready for the shuttle to pick me up.  This time I used one through the hotel, so they met me at the hotel.  I was, again, worried about security but it was a 3-minute wait for pre-check.  I don’t hate LGA airport so being there early wasn’t an issue.  I love the fountain and usually sit out at the main court at the B terminal and watch it for a while.  I didn’t do the spa thing this time because I didn’t really walk that much.  The flight was supposed to leave at 12:20, we boarded about 20 minutes late and we got an announcement over the intercom that one of the overhead bins got stuck and they had to get maintenance to sign off on the safety checklist and we would be out.  They gave the option of getting off the plane since we hadn’t pushed back, which I thought was a little sketch, but it was probably only 10 minutes.  We pushed back and waited, and waited, and waited.  The pilot said that we were waiting for other planes because of the weather that was coming through they were actively rerouting every few minutes, however, our path was clear so we would go as soon as we could.  Finally, after about an hour they said if you don’t have your seatbelts fastened, get them bad boys on because we are next and if we don’t go now not sure how much longer we would have to wait.  It was a little bumpy until we reached cruising altitude but otherwise unremarkable. 

So that was my first solo trip to the big city.  Dennis asked me when I was going back and I told him I think I will go to London next year instead.  My passport is expired so I will need to get that started but I have plenty of time.  Not sure if I am going to ask someone to go with me or just do it alone.  I have never flown overseas before so I think my anxiety going alone would be pretty high but nothing I couldn’t figure out. 

Ok, I guess I need to get busy doing real world stuff.