Computer Ninja’s Weblog

My trip to the Big Apple is nearing its end. I can’t say I’ve had a bad time because I’ve had an amazing time hanging out with John and his friends. Last night, I played cards with 3 of his close friends from work…and I took their money. It felt great. I never really get a chance to play cards. We played poker for a bit, with low stakes, then the stakes kept increasing as we ended the night with lots of drinking and lots of Blackjack…my favorite. The way we played was that each person dealt three hands. While they dealt, they were the bank….so the odds were in their favor. I think I walked away with about +200 dollars! SCHWING!

We’re going out tonight with Lenore’s (John’s roommate) friend, Karen. We’re going out for dinner and then probably drinks… I think I’ve had drinks every night. I need a break from this break! It’ll be good to be home, dieting, running, and lifting! But school awaits…Whoa is me.

The only thing left for me to do is go to the Empire State Building. Lenore tells me that it’ll be like a 3 hour wait…I may forego this experience and just try and head up to Astoria and check out the NYC Greeks!!!

I took pictures every half block or so on my journey from John’s apartment to the subway, to the bus stop, to the bus, and to the class in New Jersey (about 15 min. walk from the bus stop). I’m going to make a collection of “stills” depicting my journey. I can’t wait to do it!

John and I went and saw Avenue Q this evening after work (school for me). Avenue Q was an adult audience based puppet show with puppets that resembled those of Jim Henson’s world. Hilarious! Unique! I was fighting myself to stay away for a little bit of it, near the end of the first half and the very end. I don’t think I fell asleep…if so, for about 1 minute, total.

Today was the longest day thus far. Got home at about 11:00PM. I’m sure we’ll find something to do tomorrow night…

So, today was my first attempt at getting from Lower Manhattan to West Orange, NJ, where my Microsoft ASP training class is being taught. Here’s how it went down:

I woked up at about 5:30, with no help from an alarm clock for some crazy reason. I actually got out the door at about 6:00, a bit earlier than I had planned (6:30). I walked out the door and turned left, like practiced yesterday. At St. Mark, I turned left and walked one block and then turned right. OOPS. I was supposed to go two blocks, which I found out after walking an extra FIVE blocks too far. No worries. I had plenty of time. Made it to Starbucks where I grabbed a coffee but forgot to use my corporate credit card OR get a receipt. Oh well. I had a protein bar for breakfast. Tasty stuff.

Anyway, after the coffee, I get out of Starbucks and turn left at the end of the street, as practiced. I got into the station and took the train to the Times Square exit. I could have actually gone one or two farther that would have prevented me having to WALK that extra two blocks, but the exercise was good. So, I ask a guy emptying the garbage where the PABT (Port Authority Bus Terminal) is, and he says: “You’re in it!”. I turn around, and lo and behold, I was right in front of it. I quickly figured out which ticket counter to get my tickets for the 66/66R bus trip to and fro West Orange, NJ. $51.50 for 10 tickets. Purchased with corporate credit card. Nice and easy. And that’s that. I was about :45 early for the bus trip, so I read the Daily News while I waited. The bus ride was nice and fast. It left at 7:30 and dropped me off at the stop at 8:10. Nice and fast. What sucked was that I had to walk about one mile (~10 mins.) to get to the Residence Inn. And here I am, on my lunch break with no means to get lunch. There’s no restaurant in the hotel and none within walking distance. Oh well. I’ll plan ahead for tomorrow.

Goodnight.

Oh boy! This place is nuts! Busy busy busy is all I have to say.

John took me for a whirlwind tour of downtown Manhattan. Fantastic experience, indeed. Strolled by Ground Zero, Battery Park, Wall St., and other areas. Big city. Lots of people…and it’s only Sunday. I could only imagine what it’s like here during the week. I’ll find out tomorrow as I make my journey from John’s place to the Port Authority Bus Terminal that will get me to a bus line that runs to West Orange, NJ, where my class is.

Going to have brunch in a bit. Gotta shake this damn headache though. Too many lemon drops last night!