Sunday, March 13, 2011

Serendipity, Soakings and Starbucks

So, it's taken a week to slow down my cosmopolitan lifestyle long enough to stop and blog about it.

At this time last Sunday, I was at the International Beauty Show in New York City on a rainy day that would last The. Entire. Day.

Despite the Day of Deluge, it was the best trip to NYC I think I've ever had.

I love NYC. There's an energy there that you will find no other place on earth. When I arrive, I seem to find a piece of myself there...waiting.

After visiting several times now, I feel pretty comfortable traversing the city and I felt no pressure to "see" everything.

That left plenty of room for serendipity which I enjoyed in full measure. I just never fully grasped how this trip would change my life forever.

My virtual, online life and my "real" life collided.


Tanya Dennis
@ Do I count as a "must-see"? ;) My NYC faves are the MET, people-watching in any park, and, if you see a show: "The Lion King."

...and so it began...


I didn't see the MET, the park OR Lion King, but I DID see this sweet face:




Tanya was/is SUCH a gift. She drove into the city from the 'burbs in the POURING rain, JUST to see ME!

You know how there's that awkward moment when you first meet someone as you wonder where do we go from here?

None of that happened. We hugged as if we'd been reunited instead of meeting for the first time.

We went for a "modestly priced" (the concierge needs to be educated on the meaning of the word "modest"--ACK) Italian dinner around the corner, chosen mostly for it's location because of the rain. Fortunately, it was delicious, and because we both LOVE food, well, that was a WIN.

Discovering we both love coffee, (WIN WIN) we decided it wasn't a big deal to walk in the pouring rain to find a good cup o' joe over which to chat. We figured there would be a Starbucks on a nearby corner and when we saw a man walking down the sidewalk hunched over a Starbucks cup, we simultaneously accosted him.

Poor guy.

After he pointed to the building right in front of us, he scurried off. ( I swear, he looked over his shoulder to make sure we didn't have designs on HIS Starbucks score.)

Although we succeeded in capturing our own cups of coffee, the chat would have to adjourn to the hotel lobby as Starbucks was closing. (RUDE.)

We talked of everything friends talk about. And I'm sure we could have talked all.night.long. because we had only got started it seemed, when she ruefully looked at her watch and had to start home.

Another hug, and she was off.

I went smiling up to my room and looked at my phone when it hit me...

After all that and WE DIDN'T TAKE A SINGLE PHOTO.

(What kind of bloggers meet and don't take photos? The kind who forget their cameras. *sheepish grin*)

So I called her and found she had just arrived at her car. She drove around the block, parked in front of the hotel, jumped out and we shot our pic in 5 seconds flat.

As I've smiled at the memories we made that night, I've marveled that such a feeling of closeness could be cultivated in such a short time.

Like I said,

A gift.




2 comments:

Tanya (In the Dailies) said...

I don't know if my smile could get any bigger right now. MISS YOU!! We gotta do this again!

Dapoppins said...

Meeting bloggy friends who share everything? PRICELESS! Ive heard my elders bemoan what the world is coming too, with all this internet stuff, but the internet is bring worlds together! Now if there is ever a hair show in on the West Coast that you have to be at...we have a few of them thar' Starbucks over here too!