blog.queendork

 I’ve been back from New York for almost two weeks now. I had intended to write all about how much fun I had as soon as I returned, but, unfortunately, some unpleasant life stuff arose as soon as I got into town (aka I got laid off), and I’ve been a little distracted. But! I had a seriously swell time and I’m settling into my new employment situation, so, here we go…

I feel so lucky I’ve been able to travel. I’m not a world traveler by any means, but the handful of trips I have taken (even if just back to NY every year) have been some of the best times of my life. I never really leave with much of a plan, but I feel like that’s kind of the best part. I think that’s also why I like traveling alone so much. I’m able to just go and do what I want, when I want. Sometimes that is just sitting in a bar, talking to strangers–which is often really awesome! When you’re with a friend or family member, you often just end up talking with them and not opening yourself up to meeting new people. Which leads me to what was one of the highlights of my trip to NY.

I had an early (like senior citizen early-bird special early) dinner reservation at Eleven Madison Park (which was awesome, by the way!) and so I finished early and had the evening ahead of me. I went back to my hotel to change and I had one of my moments that I always have when I go back to NY. One of those Crap-I-Sure-Wish-I-Still-Lived-Here-What-Am-I-Doing-With-My-Life moments. So, I cried a little, changed my clothes, and headed out, thinking I’d maybe go up the Empire State Building, which I’d never done before. I was walking around midtown when I remembered a Sharks game was on and a hockey bar I’d heard of was a few blocks away. So, I popped in around 10:15 or so. Anyway, long story short slightly less long, I wound up talking to two nice dudes at the bar. Turns out they take an annual trip to NY in the spring just like I do. We spent a few hours chatting and the three of us ended up hanging out and drinking together the next two nights as well. It was really great. And, upon coming back to such crappy news, it kind of helped put things in perspective for me. Like, as much as I like my job and money and stuff, all that really is far less important in life than actually connecting with people. We’re all still keeping in touch, too, which is swell.

As for the rest of the trip…  My main impetus to take this vacation was to see Gatz at the Public and it was amazing. It was everything I wanted it to be. And, Scott Shepherd , the actor who reads the book/plays Nick knows all 49,000 words to The Great Gatsby by heart. I think I’m in love with him. Heh. I also, as you might have seen in my last post, got to see Denis O’Hare’s An Iliad, which was pretty good, Evita, which was less good, and The Book of Mormon, which was pretty awesome. Andrew Rannells, the lead, was out when I saw it, which was sort of a bummer, but the actor who filled in did a great job. I had a great time, but I think I might have enjoyed the show more if I wasn’t already so familiar with the songs.

Food-wise, as I mentioned, Eleven Madison Park, which is a fancy-schmancy three-Michelin-starred restaurant, was really, really good. Food and service were excellent and they were great with me, a woman dining solo, which I always appreciate. I also hit my favorite NY restaurants, Lederhosen and Celeste (which generally affords me my favorite meal of the year, including these amazing chicken livers, which you can see at the top-center of the collage above).

I also managed to hit a few museums, including a trip to the Met to see its new American wing, which was closed for renovations when I was there last year. It’s really well done and does a great job of showcasing the most famous pieces. They even recreated the original giant gold frame for the giant painting of Washington crossing the Delaware (pictured in the collage above), which makes the canvas even more impressive.

This trip, combined with me being out of work/contracting, which I can do from anywhere, is making me seriously consider up and moving back to NY. My lease is up here at the end of May and I’m trying to decide if I should go for it. My natural inclination is to over-think it and never go. I’m trying to fight that…but at the same time it’s a big undertaking that shouldn’t be decided upon lightly. Decisions, decisions!