Saturday, March 17, 2007

Being an Irishman - Round 2

After celebrating Saint Patrick's Day in Hoboken a few weekends ago, I met up with my girls at a friend's apartment on West 16th Street for a St. Patty's Day breakfast that began at 10 a.m. with Irish Soda Bread, shamrock-shaped cookies, green mini-muffins, Irish Coffee and mimosas. We watched the Fifth Avenue parade on television, 'threw bows' and did the two-step to Irish bagpipes, and laughed at those playing beer pong.

I'm filing this post under "nightlife" even though we partied during the day. Instead of going from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., we went from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and hit up a diner on the corner of West 16th Street and Sixth Avenue (equivalent to a 3 a.m. post-clubbing binge).

Afterward I returned to my boss's apartment in the East Village to check on the cat and relax before meeting my former college professor for dinner at Pete's Tavern on East 18th Street and Irving Plaza. He is escorting his students in the Metro Kansas City Model United Nations at the National Model United Nations Competition in the UN Headquarters, which takes place this week.

My first trip to New York City was with Dr. Wright when he advised the MUN team at Western Carolina University. We represented Nicaragua in April 2001 at the national competition in the General Assembly in the UN Headquarters. I always knew I wanted to live in New York City, but that first trip sealed the deal in my mind.

We stayed at the Grand Hyatt on 42nd Street adjacent to Grand Central Station. I remember laying in bed and listening to the sounds at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue and staring up at the Chrysler Building from my hotel room window. I would never have guessed that five years later, I would be working within five blocks - just down the street on 42nd. I just knew then that I wanted to live here.

Sometimes you just know what you want. It's the epiphany that you can't be afraid to trust.

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