We just returned from a service call to New York. It took all 5 of us, but we got the job done and returned weary but unscathed.
Friday night we flew into NYC LaGuardia airport for an 11 am Saturday meetup with Mo to install a VPN box on his network. We took a bus over into Manhattan and then a subway down to pick up the keys to the apt we had secured from Craig’s list. Once we had the keys in hand, and had handed over some hard earned cash to in exchange, we headed back to the subway and down to our apt. Miraculously there was an apt there, the keys worked, and it was an excellent pad. Once oriented we went out for NYC pizza and beer, right down the block, then off to the Apple Store on 5th Ave to pay tribute. We got back pretty late. In bed by 12:45 or so.
At 2:45 am on Saturday morning the cell phone rang. It was Tom Root who was on IT duty for the weekend covering for us. There was a problem with the firewall blocking all communication between the various networks. As soon as we got clear on that sketch the cell phone died and we had no reception. Cranking up the laptop to the apt wireless brought us nothing - the net connection appeared to be down. So Craig and I got dressed, grabbed the laptop and cell phones and hit the street. About a block away on Columbia we found some cell phone reception and were able to get Tom on the phone again and proceed with troubleshooting the problem. Craig worked on getting us an open wireless connection and we found some stacked barricades in front of a cafe to sit on. The cabs rolled by, the drunks stumbled by, and the people begging or selling were respectful when we told them we were working. After two hours we solved the problem and were able to go back to bed.
Showers in the morning started at 6 am for a 7:30 departure time to the Empire State Building.
Billie’s version:
We didn’t really leave at 7:30am. Apparently no one else set his alarm. Luckily, Joe got up shortly after me. We decided to find some coffee. Amazingly, *nothing* was open within 5 blocks of the apartment except Starbucks. We brought back coffee and juice for the rest of the team.
Elph and Craig got up for a while to explain what had happened the night before (so *that’s* what the voices and door slams were…) So letting the midnight heroes sleep in, Brian, Joe and I took off for some sightseeing.
For all its onscreen glamour, the Empire State Building was pretty nondescript - we almost walked right past it. The observatory was on the 86th floor. There was a chilly breeze and light haze in the air. Though the view was mostly fuzzy, we could still make out a few notable buildings and spaces (”Is that huge blank gray thing over there Central Park?” “Hmmm. Yeah.”) All in all, it was a nice fun thrill. Random tidbit: It takes a minute for the elevator to climb 80 floors.
We sat in the Starbucks across the street (they’re unavoidable!) to write postcards and wait for Elph and Craig. There was a woman sitting at a table behind us reading the paper and drinking coffee… from a Dunkin Donuts cup. Hilarious.
Okay, back to Elph…
Craig and Elph slept in until 9 and met up with the rest at the 32nd Street Station for our commute to Brooklyn to surprise our client.
We got off the F train in Brooklyn and walked to Mo’s apt for our 11 am ‘phone date’ arriving at 10:59. Not bad for 650 miles and planes, buses, and trains. We had a bit of stress when Mo didn’t first answer the phone but it all came together and we pleasantly surprised him (he was a great sport), we setup the VPN box, and then off to lunch together at Mexicana Mama’s.
The rest of Saturday was a lot of walking. Chelsea galleries, Vosges chocolates, The Strand bookstore, Pomme Frittes, Automat, Anyways bar, Agozars Cuban Tapas and then home to our apt.
Billie:
That’s it?! One line?? Dude, we walked FIFTEEN miles! Okay, someone’s gotta fill in the blanks here. Guys, help out here…
Elph resumes…
Sunday was sleeping in til 9 then leisurely heading to the Met to wander for an hour and half, then the subway down to Union Square Cafe where we met up with Joe’s brother Mark and his partner Erik. A bit of a wait for a table, but very nicely handled by the staff. The service was incredible and the food matched the service. We were all really impressed. For me it was the kind of meal that leaves you feeling really good - mind/body/spirit.
We were running a little late for our rendezvous with Spirit at the airport and after several local trains came and went we were told by an Oracle that the express was not running and we hopped the local for the 12 stops up to 125th. Fortunately we came into a station with an express across the tracks and switched over. The M60 bus on 125th came quickly but got stuck in traffic before breaking loose. We came in kind of later than we had hoped into LaGuardia, got delayed at the ticketing counter, struggled through security and had about 10 minutes before getting on the plane.
Throughout the weekend everything fell into place so well it felt graceful and easy. Looking for more extra miles.
See our photos.
