Upgraded Technology and a non-stop City

Well needless to say, I now have an iPhone after looking for a week in 5 different states. I suppose it's fitting I got up at 4:15 in the morning Friday to wait in line at the flagship Apple store in Manhattan. Theirs seems to be one of the only ones around where you can actually consistently find an iPhone. After waiting for three hours, I finally got mine and I walked across the street to explore Central Park a bit and set up the phone more. We started the expo at noon and finished up at 8. It was a fairly slow day at the expo, but I got to wander around a bit during lunch to check out the food options. After the expo, we met up with Alex Kniess from Eugene who is currently working for an ad agency here as a new business intern. We had some Mexican food at a seemingly popular place (I would guess pretty much everywhere in Manhattan is popular on a Friday night) and parted ways. I'll have to run into him again in Eugene to catch up on how the rest of the internship goes. After that, Molly and I decided to go out for a bit to meet a couple of her friends. We got to see a tiny piece of the New York bar scene, which really just seems loud and packed with people. I'm sure there are great places to get a drink, but we didn't find them.

Today we took a cab to the expo which started at 10 and lasted until 6. The expo was busier today but still not quite what we were expecting or hoping for. For lunch,I went on a tour of food stands. I got a sausage, a pretzel, and a gyro. At about 5, Nate and I went to go get the trucks and managed to be the first people into the hotel dock space. We managed to get loaded up pretty quickly and drove over to Central Park to unload at the finish line of tomorrow's triathlon. I saw a lot of really nice, expensive bikes at the expo, so it's too bad the transition isn't near the finish, because it would be enjoyable to be able to see those bikes getting ridden.



We finished our set-up and headed back to our hotel and then got a bite to eat at the same pizza place as Thursday night. Tomorrow we have to be at the finish line early, and about as soon as we're done with the finish line event, we'll be driving out of the city. I'll be heading back to New Jersey to drop Nate off for a vacation week he's taking, and Molly is headed North to see family. After I drop Nate off, my options are very open... almost too much so. I don't know what to do with myself, but I'm sure I'll have plenty of fun exploring this upcoming week before our event in Massachusetts next weekend. Possibilities include Providence, Rhode Island, Webster MA, and Boston (very likely at some point) or maybe somewhere inbetween for some biking or hiking.

The time in New York has gone pretty quickly, and it's been pretty much non-stop action since we got into the city. It's been a good way to experience what this city is all about. The only downside is that we haven't had a lot of time for more touristy activities or shows. It's a good thing we get to come back again during the tour, because I want to spend some more time here.



Other interesting highlights of the last two days include watching a truck back into a parked Mercedes seemingly knowing it was in the way, plenty of cab rides that are certainly hazardous to one's health, a couple of drives through Times Square, and having an elevated heart rate as a result of thinking Molly's hand got in the middle of a collision between a cab door and a large truck (the cab door didn't come out of it looking very good) (Molly's hand was fine).

Quite a city.