A World of Its Own

New York has always seemed like its own world to me. Granted when I lived in Boston, NYC wasn't quite as foreign in comparison to my then home but still had its own definite flavor. Now living in suburban Austin, it almost couldn't be more different.

First, it always cracks me up that you can get anything delivered in New York. My first experience with this phenomenon was my freshman year of college when on a visit here I learned that you can have Starbucks delivered to your door. Hilarious! Who has their coffee delivered!? And on my last trip I'd be lying if I told you I didn't seriously consider having a glass of wine delivered after a particularly stressful flight.

Possibly more funny than either of those beverages being on-call though is what I'm looking at in the terminal at JFK right now. Two rows of monitors advertising that you can order your food from the monitor and it will be delivered to you. Yes! You can have food delivered within the terminal! (Note: as I see some moms traveling with multiple small children I think this convenience must be a god-send to them so for them, OK. For the rest of us, just pure laziness.)

Also in the airport and cracking me up are the stools for these order kiosks. The are bolted to the large desk type thing but have a wheel on the bottom. Does one not cancel out the other?

Of course housing prices also set New York apart. Last night visiting with Alan and Aleks, they told me about a friend who spent $560,000 on a 1,000 square foot apartment. Holy mole. It's like you know, in your brain, that it's an expensive city. But it takes a story like that to really have it sink in how expensive.

Another funny and somewhat foreign thing about NYC is how mundane otherwise iconic locations are. The crazy arch thing that I don't know much about but that you see in movies all the time. Just part of the view from our conference booth yesterday. Or the Empire State Building from my hotel window You know, whatevs.

Speaking of normal but not, the people. Alan works in film and has worked for Martin Scorsese. I've known this but I always assumed that meant old Scorsese was at the top of some big pyramid and Alan and he were maybe in the same building once-per-project but never in the same meetings. I'd be wrong. They are on a first name basis and even have a running joke with each other. No, they don't go out for beers but then again, I don't go for beers with my CEO and I'd say he knows me. Suffice it to say, pretty darn impressed by the cuz.

Oh and Aleks, Alan's girlfriend, regularly dines on the lunch creations of Tom Colicchio who is only my favorite Top Chef judge. Who has that kind of awesome food delivered to the office?! I'm more than a little jealous and wish I had learned this at lunchtime instead of at 11p last night. I definitely would have adjusted my sandwich plans.

AND this is just crazy. My conference was in a building at NYU. Yesterday I'm in the elevator leaving the conference and I hear a familiar voice say my name. My roommate from my first semester of college! Yup, just there in the same elevator in New York. A big city but somehow a small world at the same time.

Finally, I'm very proud to tell you I've broken my no-pictures-of-people streak (I might even be turning over a new picture-taking leaf for 2012). At the eleventh hour, I remembered my challenge to self and had Aleks take a picture of me and Alan.

I think you'll agree that our different personalities shine through.