I had arranged a town car to pick me up, which proved to be a mistake because the individual I booked the car with decided to have the car arrive when my flight landed instead of arriving 45 minutes later, like I asked him to, so I ended up having to pay extra for his "circling" time. The ride into the city went well, even with the rush hour traffic, or maybe I was just distracted by the gorgeous skyline. The last time I was in NY I was sick and miserable so I didn't get to enjoy the view so much. This time I tried to take pictures and soak it all in.
My reverie was interrupted, however, when my driver chose to make an illegal turn and we were pulled over by a bossy and aggressive little traffic cop.
She didn't stop at us, though: she took the driver's information then waited for more drivers to make the same illegal move, making them pull over and taking their information as well. 
Then she disappeared around the corner for 15 minutes to write everyone a ticket (during which time even more cars turned illegally--I'm thinking this must be a huge problem in NY). Fortunately by this time we were quite close to the hotel so there were no more surprises.
I'm staying at the Grand Hyatt, right next to Grand Central Station. The hotel is gorgeous and quite modern. I actually checked myself in without having to talk to another person, kinda like at the airport only no one wanted to see my ID. 
My room is really nice, but quite tiny. I've never seen such a tiny bathroom and closet in a hotel room before!
The view, however, is amazing. I am on the 33rd floor and even though I'm sure the people in the office building next door can see me in my pjs, I just can't bring myself to close the curtains.
When I got to the hotel, I realized Mr. Y had kindly decided to lock my suitcase with a little plastic thingy so no one could open it. And by no one, I mean me. I called him and he suggested I use nail clippers, only my nail clippers were conveniently locked in my suitcase. So I called my coworker, Dude, who was also staying at the Hyatt to see if he he had any clippers. Priceless response: "I took the train, so I have a knife!" I didn't question the reasoning for his being armed on the train, as he was willing to come up to my room and help me break into my suitcase.
By this time, unfortunately, we were running a little late. We weren't quite sure where we were going, so we asked around and finally decided to just grab a cab and let the driver figure it out. We were meeting some of my friends that I met on-line a few years ago at a place called Ruby Foo's in Times Square. I was really excited, but Dude was a little nervous that we were meeting some psychos.
Ruby Foo's is very cool, and Drac was kind enough to make reservations so they had a table waiting for us.
See, Dude? Definitely not psychos! From the left: Trixie, Bella, Drac and me.
Dude was a little camera shy.
Sushi for dinner! I ordered the veggie role and the yellowtail ceviche role. Both were excellent!
Blackberries all around! (I think this is when everyone got a message from Shivon.)
OK, Dude, maybe you're right--perhaps they are just a little psycho. =)
Trixie was doubtful about the positioning of the pinky finger until Drac demonstrated.
Then Drac made the best.Freudian.slip.EVER, referring to Trixie's Lebanese relatives as lesbians.
Back outside for one more picture before Bella had to go home. We were sad to see her go, but she had an early day Tuesday and needed her sleep. Boo for having to work!
We walked around a bit
Then we ended up at a cool, but very empty, bar in the Grace Hotel.
Drac charmed the bartender.
then flashed the camera.
In all, it was a fabulous night, with great conversation and lots of laughs. It's so nice to have finally met the girls in person!
When we finally said good-bye, it was quite late but I opted to walk back to the hotel. Of course, I wasn't quite sure where I was going so I had to stop once and ask for directions, but even at 1 a.m. New Yorkers are friendly and helpful. (I was actually surprised at this, as it's something I didn't notice until I was walking around alone in the middle of the night. People here are comfortable with themselves and aren't afraid to say 'hello' when they're not rushing about their busy lives. I felt safe on the streets alone, but even safer when I knew people noticed I was there and weren't afraid to offer a friendly greeting.)
I finally got to bed at around 2:30 a.m., which was crazy considering I had to meet Dude at 8:30 to go to the office. But it is New York, after all, and I had a much better time hanging out with friends and walking around than I would have had tossing and turning in my bed at the hotel. For once jet lag was a good thing.
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