34 hours

It was sunny Friday. I was packed and ready for my trip to NYC and just waiting until 4pm when I could leave work for the airport. About 3pm, I checked my flight and saw that it had been "cancelled." Not delayed, cancelled. I knew I was in for a long night after that, but I had no idea how long. After 20-30 minutes of phone calls, I got a ride to the airport to try my luck in person. I watched an irate man belittle the woman behind the counter because she must be lying to him if there were no flights to New York. She was not very responsive to his child-like outburst. I remembered what my dad always says, "You catch more flies with honey" and I was as sweet as possible to the lady and even joked about the man who practically cussed her out before I came up to the counter. Daddy, you were right. She found a flight from RDU to Charlotte and from Charlotte to Newark, NJ. I took it and didn't look back.

I thought my luck had turned around when I got an earlier flight to Charlotte. Little did I know that just meant I'd be spending more hours in the Charlotte airport than the Raleigh airport. My flight from Charlotte was delayed from 9:15 to 10pm. And then delayed again until midnight. It was then I had a small breakdown in the airport. I couldn't get to NY, I couldn't go home, my phone was on its last leg, my best friend I was visiting in NY was already hammered and having an awesome time and I was tired. We finally left the ground at 10:56pm. Not a bad flight. The guy beside me had a dvd player and we watched Transporter 3, although I couldn't listen because it disturbed other passengers, but I got the gist. He was a true Jersey Shore-er. I told him my only observation was from MTV - True Life Jersey Shore and he just laughed and said it was probably pretty accurate. He was worried that my Southern accent would lead the cab drivers to take advantage of me so he described what route to tell the cabby to take. Once we landed, he offered to give me a ride to downtown NY. Keep in mind this was about 1am. It was a nice gesture, but he had a 50/50 chance of being a serial killer so I politely declined. The $80 cab I actually took seems stout, but maybe it saved my life and was worth it.

So, a drunken Laura met me at the door, we chatted for a few minutes and then caught a few hours of sleep before stuffing NYC into a mere 34 hours. After a quick run to Walgreens to get all the necessities that were forgotten/not brought along, we showered and headed out for the day. Laura had a plan and she truly was the best tour guide ever. The subway brought some China flashbacks on, but honestly they are like comparing the Ritz with the Motel 6. We started with walking through Central park and a little shopping at H&M and Zara. With our awesome matching dresses, Laura and I will keep the East Coast stylin. That is if it ever gets warm enough in NY for her to wear hers. We then went to Grand Central Station and the Public Library. Both are exquisite and must-sees if you make your way to NY. A quick visit to Bryant Park and Times Square before we headed to Greenwich Village for lunch. For lunch we chose the White Horse Tavern - which is evidently famous. A literary pub crawl stopped by the bar and told stories about all the famous writers who lived in the Village and drank at the White Horse. The only writer from back in the day that did not live in the Village, Emily Dickinson. So we got our learn on and then headed to Shoegasm for a lil shoe shopping. We ended the day with Battery Park and a faraway look at the Statue of Liberty and then purse shopping on Canal St. Sketchy. We were scurried into a false wall where the knock-offs were kept. I definitely recommend that to anyone who goes to NY. Its quite the rush.

We had dinner at Dos Caminos and friends from high school and college came to see me. The Carolina game was on at the bar, so my college roommate and I kept sneaking trips to check the score. About half time we headed to The Pour House and drank and cheered on the Heels. We also hit up Nevada Smiths for a few more drinks and to drop some beers on their floor. Late night was of course authentic NY Pizza. We couldn't have ended the evening more perfectly, but it actually got more exciting when someone pretended to get hit by our cab driver and mooned us. Ahhh New York. I made it back in one piece, caught up on sleep and then prepared for another round.


Monday night, Carolina played Mich St for the National Championship Title. I was there, on Franklin St, when Carolina won it in 2005, so it was only natural that I be there in 2009. We found a random bar with a huge screen to watch the game. My old roomies came in for the event and it was fabulous. We rushed Franklin right after the game and moshed with the students. We laughed, we screamed and for that moment we were college students again. Nothing mattered but that title. Students hung from street signs and power lines. Toilet paper hung throughout the town and bonfires were everywhere. I jumped over a bonfire, and as lame as that sounds, it made my night. These festivities were followed by a little late night food at Time Out and a random ride home from a fellow Tarheel (who we then offered internships to). It was perfect. We spent the next morning on campus relishing in the win, buying tshirts and searching for those oh so valuable newspapers that will one day hang framed in my Carolina room.