Christmas Eve Saga

As we all know, yesterday was Christmas Eve. Granted, I didn't hundred dollar bills would be falling from the sky or anything like that but I wasn't expecting the day to be quite so challenging.

It starts out well enough: a little breakfast, getting my gym and work clothes together, stuff like that. I was meeting Michelle at the gym so we could exchange gifts and have a little Christmas Eve cardio blast. I made Michelle her gift, some cranberry and orange infused vodka that I had put in a lovely glass jar, taped and wrapped in foil in order to prepare for the ride midtown (I didn't know if it would leak but certainly didn't want to find out). I get on the subway and I'm like a pack-mule: giant backpack, big purse, shopping bag with the aforementioned vodka inside. I put the shopping bag on the train floor so I can take off my backpack, the subway starts and the bag tips over. "Aaaaahhhhhhh!" is what's running through my head, so I pick it up quickly and decide not to worry about it since there's nothing I can do on the subway anyway. I get off the train (and did I mention it was raining?) and finally get to the gym. And that's when I notice the saggy bottom of the shopping bag. Luckily, I was at the gym and was able to clean it up, but the vodka had indeed spilled (not too much, but enough to be very messy and require a 15 minute clean-up job).

Fast forward, oh, two hours. I have now acquired a shopping bag that has my lunch inside. A salad. I have to go to my friend's house on the Upper East Side because I am house/cat/fish sitting for him. He has a persnickety lock on his apartment door, one that has to be cajoled gently in order to work. So, there I am, all my bags, etc. (luckily it's not raining anymore, so one less thing in my hands) cajoling the lock, when the tumbler comes out with the key, falls to the floor and breaks into ten pieces. Yipes! I start to worry about the cat and the fish (and wonder if the fish will be there when I can finally get into the apartment). I call my friend and tell him what's happening, and he instructs me to go the management office and they'll take care of it. I go to the management office and he's turning the broken tumbler over in his hands and asks me if I can stay until he fixes the lock. Nope, I inform him. I have to leave for work in twenty minutes. So, I leave my information with him, etc. This is a problem that will have to be fixed today.

Like I mentioned I was in a bit of a hurry because I had to go to work. So, I hop on the train and ride all the way downtown and get to work when, surprise! The door is locked. Insert Scooby sound here. I call the manager and she tells me, "Oh, it's a private event. You don't have to be there until 9:00." I check my watch. 6:00. I am downtown, 180 blocks from home. It's Christmas Eve. Even the crazy Meatpacking District where I work is starting to look a little sparse in terms of people. I find a Starbucks that is open until 8:00 (after two attempts), and sit there for two hours, then find a bar for another hour where I drink soda and bitters (I'm sure the bartender was THRILLED with me, but whatever. I left her ten bucks for a $3 drink), and then went to work, which was finally open.

Checking coats is thrilling. Honestly. You sit in a dim room and make fun of REALLY drunk people. Like last night, a girl fell. Like literally, just fell right on her butt in the hall. So, anyway, a guy comes to pick up his coat and his ticket number is 735, and he said, "Those are my lucky numbers!" "Good numbers, too, I say, 3, 5, and 7 are sequential and prime, too. That's pretty good." And I hear him say to his friend, "I'm surprised a coat check girl knows what prime numbers are." And as I'm handing his his coat, I say, "Yeah, and I know lots of big words, too."

I got off work at 4:00, that is a.m. I splurged on a cab ride home and as he was driving (does anyway remember that video game, Crazy Cab? That's what this ride was like), I was considering the messages of love I received yesterday from friends and family, the fact that though my day was indeed frustrating, I am blessed. I hope you all have a beautiful Christmas.

And now I have to get dressed to check in on the lock/cat/fish situation. Wish me luck!

Merry merry!

Thankfully Tom and Shane have a Christmas tree and all the trimmings. So, for fun, a friend and I put up the tree the other night (and truthfully, I needed his long limbs to get all the stuff out of the storage area). It was a fun night! I know it's no big deal compared to your big trees and years of accumulated decorations, but I think it's pretty darn cute and just the right size. And for those of you who don't know, I will not be heading to Utah for Christmas. I've decided to stay in town and earn money to pay bills. So send your well wishes to NYC! Hope you are all enjoying your holiday season!