NYC part 1

Ok, i gotta get all this stuff out before i forget the trip entirely. Its been crazy at work so its been really hard to find the time to blog about anything. Of course i keep getting all these ideas and things that i want to write about when i can't find the time to write. Anyways, i'll try to keep this NYC recap short and sweet.

Steve and i made it to NYC without issue. we had separate flights separated by an hour or so. Steve was already in Manhattan with Anthony eating dinner, so i was on my own. My first ever NYC experience is a car service guy trying to hustle me. I manage to get away from him, grab a taxi and head to the nearest train station so i can ride it in to the city to meet up with everybody. It was pretty exciting to be on my own trying to figure out what i needed to do in this new place. I like traveling on my own sometimes. I found them without any problems, we ate, and headed to anthony's place in brooklyn to drink beer, play wii, and get some sleep.

The next day, wednesday, we headed out at about 7am to go to the Future of Web Design (FOWD) Conference in the city, and I got to experience a bit of NYC rush hour (pictured here). I love all that energy. The conference was pretty cool. Joshua Davis was interesting, and very entertaining, but i enjoyed Ryan Singer the most. He is part of the 37 Signals Team (best known for their online app, basecamp), and in general just a very smart, cool dude.

After a full day of speakers it was time for the afterparty at a club called Rebel hosted by Media Temple. It started at 7:30 and was open bar all night, so i'm sure you can guess how that evening went.

The next day I slept in until about 10, and rode the train back into Manhattan with anthony to check out his work. after that i was off on my own again since steve was in workshops all day and everyone else was working. I started off by eating an authentic street vendor lunch and taking the train to Times Square. I walked from the times square/42nd st stop all the way to central park before taking the train back down south to SOHO. I can't tell you enough how much i enjoyed being on my own for a day to explore... it was great. eventually i was glad to meet up with steve and the gang and head out to a pub called McSorley's. Its the oldest bar in New York, has the best cheeseburgers in town, and an awesome old school new york atmosphere. they brew their own beer and thats all the carry. we all ordered a beer and the dude comes back with 16 beer filled mugs and plops them down, giving the seemingly 100 year old table a nice coating of beer... it was great.

to be continued....