I promise you, if there's someone who knows how to pack a lot of things into 84 hours it's moi. Let the following be proof:
Friday 5:00pm - Pick up car. A Malibu Maxx (with two x's)
6:00pm - Get across town, West to East.
7:00pm - Decide to eat dinner with friend at Pescatore Grill
7:54pm - Pound a cappuccino for the road.
8:00pm - Load/pack car and leave. Oh, after paying $45 for two hours of parking.
8:01pm - Get stuck in traffic.
8:31pm - Still stuck in traffic.
9:00pm - Still stuck in traffic.
10:00pm - Get stuck in traffic in the Holland Tunnel.
10:24pm - Make it out of Manhattan, 2 and a half freaking hours later.
Saturday 12:20am - Decide on unhealthy dinner at gas station.
2:45am - Get gas at a place that promotes the fact they sell Children's Story Books for 99 cents.
3:41am - 338 miles later realize I'm still only about half way to home.
5:00am - Pass out in car.
8:45am - Wake up and go get Premium Roast coffee at McDonald's. Oh, and a sausage egg and cheese mcmuffin. A thing of pure beauty. It in. Get refill. Drink Coffee. Get refill again. Drink coffee.
11:08am - See signs that I might make it home without dying.
3:16pm - Arrive at home. 725.6 miles later.
5:00pm - Take a nap.
8:00pm - Eat massive homecooked dinner.
9:00pm - Continue eating.
10:00pm - Chat with parents.
11:00pm - Go to Wal-Mart for dad to pick up random necessary items. Mesmerized by sheer size of Wal-Mart.
Sunday 12:00am - pass out again.
7:00am - crudely awaken to dad throwing stuff on me in my sleep. Says we have "much to do today". I groan
8:00am - begin day
9:00am - Go to Oak Ridge to pay respects to my deceased grandmother.
10:00am - Go to house we're trying to sell. Check things out.
12:00pm - Go to Turkey Creek to pick up some accoutrement I need.
3:00pm - Have lunch at McCallisters.
3:30pm - Continue shop-a-thon.
5:00pm - Go home, have dinner.
6:00pm - Go to Best Buy, help dad pick out new high definition LCD tv. Lookin' good. Pass on offer to buy extra cables.
8:00pm - Bring TV home
9:00pm - After eating a small snack I unpack TV and begin to install.
9:30pm - Realize I don't have all the necessary cables.
9:31pm - Curse.
9:32pm - Make trek to Wal-Mart. Again.
9:45pm - Enter Wal-Mart
10:15pm - Give up on search for appropriate cable.
10:16pm - Curse.
11:00pm - Realize following day is Easter and everything will be closed.
Sunday 12:00am - Begin working with father on several letters he needs to write.
1:00am - Finish draft of letter
1:30am - Go to bed.
2:00am - Awoken by Dad to work on letters again.
3:00am - Finish work. Sigh. Go back to bed.
8:00am - Arise to an empty house.
9:00am - Fix breakfast alone. Worried that parents have given up on me, for real this time.
10:00am - Mother walks in from early services at church. Says she didn't wake me up because I was sleeping so well. I feel she simply forgot.
12:00pm - Dad walks in, immediately says we need to clean up his study.
3:00pm - Finish cleaning study. Dad says we must now go to Kinko's. I sigh.
5:00pm - Get back from Kinko's and I convince my parents that if I MUST leave.
5:45pm - Hit the road.
7:45pm - Stop at Wendy's for Combo #6. If you don't know what that one is off the top of your head you don't deserve to know.
Monday 4:04am - Arrive at Holland Tunnel, much less traffic. (a little less than 11 hours later).
5:00am - Drive, with much gusto, around the empty streets of NYC.
5:40am - Unload car
5:45am - Find parking spot ($50 per day).
5:46am - Curse
6:00am - Make it to apartment for quick 30 minute nap.
8:30am - Wake up two and a half hours later from a 30 minute nap.
9:00am - Take a shower and head to work.
Special thanks to Jon who literally stayed on the phone with me for 20 hours of my trip to keep me from careening off the road into oblivion, McDonald's premium roast coffee, and...ahem...70mph speed limits.
A good friend of mine was in the city on Tuesday and it was good visit.
