My parents came to get me around one, and we decided we were going to head up to Grand Central to see the Holiday Fair there, see the tree at Rockefeller, walk through Time Square, and end the night at Bryant Park. I had tried to talk them into going to Chinatown and Little Italy for the East Meets West Christmas Parade, but they came too late to see it.
We had parked on 45th and Lexington, and my mother kept asking "How far is it? How far is Grand Central? How far to the Tree? How far to Bryant Park?" We then got into the issue that "a few blocks over" is an acceptable answer when you know the neighborhood - but not when you don't know which way is north. I think I'm going to buy her a map one of these years.
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| My adorable little brother making faces at me on our way into Grand Central |
After Geand Central, we hopped back in the car to go over to Rockefeller plaza. Having to drive there felt so wrong - it was only 8 blocks and a couple of avenues- but I guess that's what happens when you bring suburbanites to the city. (Yes, I realize I was a suburbanite - but I have since been cured of my wicked ways.)
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| One of my favourite aspects of Rockefeller Plaza, the Atlas Statue. |
The tree was lovely, but since it was the weekend before Christmas you couldn't push your way through for love or money. We stood and stared, then started walking south to Time Square. By this point, it was getting near dinner time. We stopped at each place in Time Square and asked for their wait times - all over an hour. It was a half hour wait to get your name on the list for the wait for Hard Rock Cafe! We wound up at a burger joint called "The Counter" on the south end of the square. It was a great build-your-own- burger menu - and it was reasonably priced, for the area. We all crafted our own burgers and got shakes and fries; it was phenomenal. I need to remember that this place exists, so when I'm craving a good burger and some bright lights, I can head up.
Halfway through dinner, we realized that the parking ticket on the car was going to expire. We also realized that the car was still up by 51st street. Luckily, we were only a few blocks from the Bryant Park stop on the F and the car was only a block from the 51st street stop. I volunteered to take the train up to the car and get us a new ticket - and my mother blanched. She started peppering me with questions about where I would be going, how familiar I was with the train, how safe the areas I would be in were. My dad and I simply stared - why was she so worried? I guess it's different to imagine me wandering about the city with my friends than it is to see me walk off on my own, with just my word that I'd navigate the crowded city on my own.
As predicted, I headed back to the car and got a new ticket without a hitch. I took a little longer than expected since I stopped to use a bathroom in Rockefeller plaza. If you do wind up there, they have some of the nicest public restrooms in the city. I met my parents back in Bryant Park, and we did our usual rounds. Looking at all the shops, watching the ice skaters, trying all the free chocolate samples.
And this was when I had my minor religious experience, ladies and gentlemen. Max Brenner's chocolate has a stall at the Bryant Park shops, and they have many goodies available for purchase. One is a delight called "Italian Thick Hot Chocolate". The only way I can describe this is to imagine heaven, and put it in a cup. I do believe they simply melt the richest chocolate bar to ever exist, add a drop of cream, and pour it in your mug. If it wasn't so rich, I would drink these ever day. But since the calorie count is likely somewhere in the low thousands, I don't think my pants would appreciate that.
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| The Crowds, Shops. and Empire State Building from Bryant Park |
We got home really late Saturday night from all our adventures, and Sunday we swung straight into Christmas preparation. Cleaning, decorating, and setting up as much as possible. We did a little last minute shopping, and visited with some family. By Christmas Eve, we were ready to decorate the tree, as is tradition.
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| Our decorations are almost as nice as the ones in the City! |
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| An artsy photo of my brother on Christmas Eve |
Christmas was wonderful, but quiet. We stayed home and some relatives bounced in and out all day long. My brother got a Lamborghini - the car he's been talking about non-stop. My mom slipped the HotWheels into his stocking - I don't think I've seen him laugh so hard in weeks. Even my dog got a present! The toy next to her was brand new - but it's already been destroyed. Oh well, I guess that's what happens when you give a big dog a little toy.
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| James' First Car! (He's not thrilled about being teased) |
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| My dog was really confused by our excitement, so she just took her toy and went to bed. |
The rest of this break is devoted to friends! My friends and I are planning to have our traditional New Year's Eve Party again. We'll al head over to Kaarina's, play games, sing karaoke, eat snacks, and ring in the New Year together. We'll also do a round of White Elephant, which is a gift giving game where everyone chooses a gift, and you can either pull from a bag or "steal"one that has already been picked by someone. It's basically the Hunger Games of Christmas.
Fair Warning: This is where I get emotional over the New Year!
We've been doing New Years parties for a few years now. I love ringing in the New Year with the friends I've had for so long - I've known most of them since I was in elementary school. There's been a group of six of us that have stuck through thick and thin together. They're the kids who made high school bearable. The history and love I have with them is so important. I cannot imagine a New Year starting without them. It wouldn't feel like anything to celebrate.
Now, the parties are changing. My friends are bringing their significant others, and we're inviting college friends as well. It's not just the little nerdy high school family anymore. We're all still there, but the dynamic is different. A friend once told me that when you leave a situation, you can't ever return to they way things were. Now that we're not in high school, that we're having these life changing developments at college, we're different. He said that if you try and force the dynamic to be the way it was, you'll fail, and destroy everything. But, if you look for a new dynamic, you might find something that grows organically from the way you used to be, to the way you are now. And we're doing just that, and I am so grateful.
The sad fact is that we're growing up - and that means developing our own lives. We're branching out, and the plans we made are changing. Our lives are starting to pull us in different directions. And that is heartbreaking. But we're not the sort of friends who would ever discourage each other from taking every opportunity that we've been offered. So we understand that there will be times that we won't see each other much, or that we' won't be able to call or video chat or remember things. It doesn't mean that we're not thinking about each other, it just means that we have 6 papers, three hundred pages of reading, two tests, a project for work, and that we kind of want to sleep.
Oh, my friends and I. We have been through so many changes of plans, so many endings, so many beginnings. And I guess it's a beautiful thing, to me, to spend the end of every year with these people, and begin my new one with them as well.
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