It's been a while since I've had one of those college-esque adventures.
You know, hop in a car, go somewhere, sleep in the car, come back half
the bum you were with twice the memories.
It was a big decision for me to go to New York. The Manman had an important business meeting there and had asked me the month prior to go with him. Of course I wanted to, and seeing as how I went on all his other business trips with him since we met, I didn't see why not. Other factors came into play the closer time came- my job was a big one. I couldn't get the time off because I'd already used my PTO, and I really could use the hours at said job for other expenses and later travels.
When it came down to it, I had told him no. There would be other trips and other places that I would want to go to. New York hadn't necessarily been a dream of mine anyway, so I wasn't stressing too much.
Those that know me and my faithful readers that follow me know that this last paragraph sounds nothing like me. Saying no to an adventure? NEXT TIME?? When did I become so boring? A week before he'd planned to leave, he asked me again if I was sure I didn't want to come with.
The gears began ticking. I only had four more weeks at said job because I knew I was going to another job.
On the other hand, I had 9 1/2 attendance points and you are only allowed 12 before you are fired. Calling out two days in a row would put me at 11 1/2 points. It was risky, but worth the risk? That meant I would only allow myself 1/2 point for the three weeks after that. You get 1/2 point if you are one minute late.
For someone like me, three weeks is a fucking long time to screw it up.
Fuck it. YOLO!!
So I went to New York. It was me, the Manman (we'll call him Superman), and Remmington.
My usual days off were Monday and Tuesday, I called in Wednesday and Thursday, and we were to arrive at eight in the mornin on Friday so I'd have enough time to nap before work at two. It was planned, we just had to put it into action.
With the crew we had going, make no mistake that the trip began as epic as it ended.
Remmington got off work the latest so we had to wait for him before we could go. What we thought would be midnight turned into leaving at three in the mornin. Have no fear, insomniacs are here. We had to stop by Superman's office first before we could leave. Remmington, his intern, and I sat in the car and waited patiently, getting to know one another through a little more than idle chit chat and laughs.
A good while goes by before we get a phone call from Superman. Remmington put it on speaker, Superman sounding out of breath. "The door in the hallway to my office was locked and I didn't have the code to open it," he breathes, remembering that he's just renting his office space. "So. I'm in the ceiling. Might be a minute." We both laugh, and hang up the phone. Minutes later he calls us again to come inside.
We look at him and can't help but smile. Wearing his lounge pants and sweatshirt, he's covered in mothballs and white powder. I brush him off, listening to his explanation while he grins ear to ear as he talks, showing off his perfect canine teeth.
"Well, I text and called the landlord but he wasn't answering and I really needed to get into my office. The hallway door is never shut so I never needed the code to get into it. I did the only thing I could think of- went to the bathrooms before the door, climbed on the toilet and pushed the tile up," he pointed to the tile above the commode and began walking from the restroom down the hall to where the door was now open. Pointing to the ceiling, "I crawled all along here, and got all the way to the edge of the wall. Then I kicked the ceiling in," he said pointing to the obvious hole above.
Remmington cracked up, "Wait, wait, wait. You KICKED it in? You know these tiles are easily removed right?" "I know, I know, but I was in video game mode! It just felt right." We all were laughing hysterically.
This is my man. MY man. Only such a crazy individual could be mine.
He got his belongings from his office and we were set off, wide awake in the car from all the action. He cleaned up the mess and sent the landlord a lengthy text explaining he couldn't get in the door and that he would replace the tiles no problem.
We stopped in North Carolina for a few hours because we were still ahead of schedule as far as the business meeting went. Lunch at the mall and we wandered around shopping. The city was beautiful and lush; neither of the guys had been there before and were dazzled by the glory.
The ride was half the fun. Riding with these guys reminded me of a place in my heart I called home. Remmington had known Superman for years so they had a certain level of comfort and humour with each other. One I jumped right into just fine. There were rants between the two of them that had me laughing so hard I was crying uncontrollably and it didn't stop for long periods of time.
One of the rants was something about tourmenting Burger King workers by asking for a BossMac repeatedly for days at a time. Where the fuck do they come up with this shit? If I had recorded the trip, we'd all be rich. Their good witted thoughts were gold.
About seven the next morning, we saw the outline of the big city. After several toll pass ways, we were finally driving through the Lincoln Tunnel. Traffic was so packed even at that time of morning but I was enjoying having the moment to drive so slowly and have a gander at everything. Once we got deeper into the city, the guys were taking all kinds of pictures and video. The buildings were higher than high and there were so many people walking through the streets. We passed the Eiffel Tower, Fifth Avenue, and the guys began listing all the things they wanted to do on the trip.
I just sat in silence, taking it all in. Looking at all the people. Marveling at their fast pace, the disregard for speeding cars, wondering where they were headed to. Wondering what it's like to be a local, if it even phases them the city that they live in.
After circling the blocks a few times, we finally located our hotel and found a parking garage. It was expensive as shit but the "cheapest" we could find. Superman ran in to go check us into the room and when he came back, noted that our room wouldn't be ready for a couple of hours so we had time to explore the city a little in the surrounding blocks while we waited. No one had any qualms with this notion and the first few steps of our little New York journey began.
It was a big decision for me to go to New York. The Manman had an important business meeting there and had asked me the month prior to go with him. Of course I wanted to, and seeing as how I went on all his other business trips with him since we met, I didn't see why not. Other factors came into play the closer time came- my job was a big one. I couldn't get the time off because I'd already used my PTO, and I really could use the hours at said job for other expenses and later travels.
When it came down to it, I had told him no. There would be other trips and other places that I would want to go to. New York hadn't necessarily been a dream of mine anyway, so I wasn't stressing too much.
Those that know me and my faithful readers that follow me know that this last paragraph sounds nothing like me. Saying no to an adventure? NEXT TIME?? When did I become so boring? A week before he'd planned to leave, he asked me again if I was sure I didn't want to come with.
The gears began ticking. I only had four more weeks at said job because I knew I was going to another job.
On the other hand, I had 9 1/2 attendance points and you are only allowed 12 before you are fired. Calling out two days in a row would put me at 11 1/2 points. It was risky, but worth the risk? That meant I would only allow myself 1/2 point for the three weeks after that. You get 1/2 point if you are one minute late.
For someone like me, three weeks is a fucking long time to screw it up.
Fuck it. YOLO!!
So I went to New York. It was me, the Manman (we'll call him Superman), and Remmington.
My usual days off were Monday and Tuesday, I called in Wednesday and Thursday, and we were to arrive at eight in the mornin on Friday so I'd have enough time to nap before work at two. It was planned, we just had to put it into action.
With the crew we had going, make no mistake that the trip began as epic as it ended.
Remmington got off work the latest so we had to wait for him before we could go. What we thought would be midnight turned into leaving at three in the mornin. Have no fear, insomniacs are here. We had to stop by Superman's office first before we could leave. Remmington, his intern, and I sat in the car and waited patiently, getting to know one another through a little more than idle chit chat and laughs.
A good while goes by before we get a phone call from Superman. Remmington put it on speaker, Superman sounding out of breath. "The door in the hallway to my office was locked and I didn't have the code to open it," he breathes, remembering that he's just renting his office space. "So. I'm in the ceiling. Might be a minute." We both laugh, and hang up the phone. Minutes later he calls us again to come inside.
We look at him and can't help but smile. Wearing his lounge pants and sweatshirt, he's covered in mothballs and white powder. I brush him off, listening to his explanation while he grins ear to ear as he talks, showing off his perfect canine teeth.
"Well, I text and called the landlord but he wasn't answering and I really needed to get into my office. The hallway door is never shut so I never needed the code to get into it. I did the only thing I could think of- went to the bathrooms before the door, climbed on the toilet and pushed the tile up," he pointed to the tile above the commode and began walking from the restroom down the hall to where the door was now open. Pointing to the ceiling, "I crawled all along here, and got all the way to the edge of the wall. Then I kicked the ceiling in," he said pointing to the obvious hole above.
Remmington cracked up, "Wait, wait, wait. You KICKED it in? You know these tiles are easily removed right?" "I know, I know, but I was in video game mode! It just felt right." We all were laughing hysterically.
This is my man. MY man. Only such a crazy individual could be mine.
He got his belongings from his office and we were set off, wide awake in the car from all the action. He cleaned up the mess and sent the landlord a lengthy text explaining he couldn't get in the door and that he would replace the tiles no problem.
We stopped in North Carolina for a few hours because we were still ahead of schedule as far as the business meeting went. Lunch at the mall and we wandered around shopping. The city was beautiful and lush; neither of the guys had been there before and were dazzled by the glory.
The ride was half the fun. Riding with these guys reminded me of a place in my heart I called home. Remmington had known Superman for years so they had a certain level of comfort and humour with each other. One I jumped right into just fine. There were rants between the two of them that had me laughing so hard I was crying uncontrollably and it didn't stop for long periods of time.
One of the rants was something about tourmenting Burger King workers by asking for a BossMac repeatedly for days at a time. Where the fuck do they come up with this shit? If I had recorded the trip, we'd all be rich. Their good witted thoughts were gold.
About seven the next morning, we saw the outline of the big city. After several toll pass ways, we were finally driving through the Lincoln Tunnel. Traffic was so packed even at that time of morning but I was enjoying having the moment to drive so slowly and have a gander at everything. Once we got deeper into the city, the guys were taking all kinds of pictures and video. The buildings were higher than high and there were so many people walking through the streets. We passed the Eiffel Tower, Fifth Avenue, and the guys began listing all the things they wanted to do on the trip.
I just sat in silence, taking it all in. Looking at all the people. Marveling at their fast pace, the disregard for speeding cars, wondering where they were headed to. Wondering what it's like to be a local, if it even phases them the city that they live in.
After circling the blocks a few times, we finally located our hotel and found a parking garage. It was expensive as shit but the "cheapest" we could find. Superman ran in to go check us into the room and when he came back, noted that our room wouldn't be ready for a couple of hours so we had time to explore the city a little in the surrounding blocks while we waited. No one had any qualms with this notion and the first few steps of our little New York journey began.
