Four p.m. on Friday I was asked if I wanted to go to New York City to coordinate three of our Square users, who would appear on Fox and Friends.
Hem, hem, yes! Will pack bags now.
I spent the next hour coordinating flights, a hotel room and switching off from my typical weekend shift, which is no longer typical! The next day I headed to the airport and took off for my 6 hour flight. I ended up surprising myself with a grown-up move and bought the internet, (yes, I now own the internet). I then spent the majority of the flight working.
It wasn’t until I touched down in New York that I felt a slight pang of nerves. I quickly took it all in and moved on to my next objective: get off the plane and run over as many people as I can with my luggage. After receiving world-class recognition for my plowing skills, I hopped in a cab. I’d also like to note that this was the most expensive cab rides I’ve ever taken at $60.00.
The cab driver, after chuckling a bit from the charge he just put on my credit card, dropped me off right in the heart of Times Square. My Kayak.com skills couldn’t have been any better! Although I may retract that statement after reflecting upon my stay at Stay, the hotel. As soon as I walked into the hotel, I realized that I was missing one hell of a party taking place somewhere on the first floor. I should have taken the hotel’s statement, “A place you can party all night and sleep all day!” a bit more seriously.
The room was nice though! Perfect for flying solo. Well, it was until I saw this above my bed:
She visited me in my dreams…
Before my not-so-peaceful night’s sleep though, I caught a cab to the first gluten-free restaurant that popped up on my Yelp search: Risotteria. As I gave them my order, I was giving them my I’m-so-grateful-for-you, puppy-dog eyes; I wanted them to realize that I was very thankful for a gluten-free meal so far away from home. I would have said something, but these are New Yorkers! New Yorkers don’t do emotions.
I took my panini and got into a cab for the last time that night. I arrived at Times Square, and wandered around staring at the lights while eating my sandwich. My nerdiness came out when I discovered that Discovery was doing an exhibition on Harry Potter! I then gave a slight stomp of my foot when they told me it wouldn’t be opened until April. Oh, why do you tease me with a flying car? I soothed my disappointment with a trip to Candy Land.
My sack of candy and I headed back to the hotel with the idea in mind that I would get eight hours of sleep before the shoot tomorrow. The rest of me had different ideas. The body didn’t like the three hour time difference and was not about to let me go to bed at 8 p.m. Pacific Time. It probably didn’t help that I consumed a measurable amount of sugar before bed. And it definitely didn’t help that the only channels available were news stations, (who love reporting on events that scare the shit out of you while you sleep alone in New York City).
Eventually I drifted off to sleep and dreamt of the scary woman over my bed. Five hours later I was awake and getting ready for Fox and Friends! After a minor heart attack when I couldn’t find my phone, (I had packed it in my luggage), I headed off into the city to find the “Avenue of the Americas.” I then had my second heart attack when I realized Google Maps was having issues directing me due the tall buildings interfering.
Why hello police officers! Please help the obvious out-of-towner.
I made it on time and crossed into the studio through thick, sliding, glass plates, (which could have sliced you in half if you made one wrong move.) The next hour flew by as I got to know our users on a more personal bases. Every single one of them had an amazing experience and story, and I was really looking forward to them representing Square on Fox and Friends.
I talk to Square users almost every day, and while they are amazed with our product and service, I am just as amazed by them and their story. It has always been mind boggling to me that every single person in this world has their own history and complex life. It’s an obvious observation, but when when you really think about it, it’s hard to fully grasp. Life would be too overwhelming to take in every single person’s life story, but I like to try to get a sliver.
No surprise here, but the three users did amazing! They even had a nice glow to them from the makeup… I couldn’t help but beam during the whole interview. I barely had time to take it the fact I was watching the making of a news segment before it was over. I’m going to quote my grandma on this one, “It takes so much time to prepare and always goes by so quickly.”
You got that right Gma.
All of us walked out of the studio happy with what we had just accomplished; the three interviewees worked through their nerves and had a great interviews, and I successfully executed what I was sent to New York to do.
I walked out of Fox and Friends with a whole day ahead of me before needing to go to the airport. I wandered back to Times Square and quickly had flashbacks of my first few days in San Francisco, (i.e. everyone knew that I was a n00b because I was freezing). I debated whether or not to purchase a ‘I’m-a-tourist, New York sweatshirt’ or head into Forever 21 to find something a bit less obvious. I went with the latter and purchased a $15.00 sweatshirt.
No bag needed. I’ll wear this out.
I continued to wander and stare until I came across our Square billboards. Square is taking over Times Square!
I was starting to get hungry so picked up my luggage from the hotel and grabbed a cab to take me to the next gluten-free place on my list: Tu Lu’s Gluten-free Bakery. I was in heaven as I sat on the stool chowing down on my gluten-free, turkey sandwich. I purchased a piece of their pumpkin bread and a snickerdoodle for the road, and took off for my last tourist destination: the Brooklyn Flea Market.
If you do a quick Google search for the Brooklyn Flea Market, you will be given an address that takes you to an interesting neighborhood. In this neighborhood you will not see a flea market. I would also recommend you don’t go knocking on any doors in this neighborhood to find out where you can find the flea market. I called “Fat Dog Fabrications,” a Square user who sells his products at the market and who was on Fox and Friends earlier that day, and asked, “Where am I?!” Luckily I overshot it by a few blocks and was quickly back on the right path.
The Brooklyn Flea Market is held in an old, almost cathedral-like, building. There are high-peaked ceilings and textiles on the wall. The most interesting thing about the space though was how many sellers and visitors they could cram into the building. Nothing a little pressure from the elbows couldn’t solve, if you know what I mean.
I headed to the second floor initially to meet Don and see Fat Dog Fabrication in action! He was generous enough to store my luggage so that I could wander around the flea market more freely. He wasn’t generous enough though to come up with a shrinking spell in order for me to fit one of his amazing pieces of furniture into my carry-on.
After spending some time checking out all of the treasures, it was time for me to leave and catch my flight back to San Francisco. I thanked Don and caught a cab to the airport where I proceeded to fall asleep and dream of Candy Land, Square billboards, bright lights and and a scary woman holding an orange egg.
