I'm In A New York State Of Mind...

I know it has been quite a while since you all have heard from me and the only thing I can say is that I have been on the move for the last month. I went to San Francisco over Halloween on business, and upon returning from that trip, I immediately began preparing for my long awaited family cruise which was just around the corner as our departure date was November 21st. That trip was an absolute blast, and I will be blogging about it as well as sharing pictures and video when I have the time to do so during my Christmas break from work. After our family cruise, I was home for exactly one week during which I was sick the entire time only working 1.5 days over the course of the week. The next Sunday, I had to depart for New Jersey on business for the week and having made my travel arrangements months earlier, I had the bright idea to extend the trip through the weekend so that I could spend some time in New York.

The week in New Jersey was productive even though I was still not recovered from my illness of the previous week AND I developed an ear infection while there. By Friday of that week, all I wanted to do was to go home and sleep in my own bed but in my infinite wisdom, I had extended my trip and one of my Blog BFFs had agreed to provide me with shelter while I got to know her city over the weekend so I was pretty much locked in so to speak.

You all have heard me say what I am about to say next before....THANK GOD that HE and not I get to decide what I will or won't do. If I had been able to have my way, I would not have stayed the weekend in New York. I just wanted to go home and go to bed but I could not...GOD and NYC were not having that!

I had the best time ever and I am so grateful for the experience. I got to see NYC in ways I had never seen her before and she was graceful enough to allow me to become a part of her. I made amazing new friends (I love you Dari and Robert), did the tourist thang....Rockefeller Plaza and Bryant Park YOU ROCK, met friends for drinks at the tres chic Greek restaurant KELLARI and dined in diners where breakfast was served 24 hours a day...oh so New York, AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, got my spoken word on at the very historic and perfectly representative of what a New York Jazz Club should be, St. Nick's Pub...located on Harlem's famed Sugarhill!!!!

BEFORE I FORGET....let me just say that never in the history of the world and visits was there EVER a better hostess than Ms. Cap City! In every conceivable way, she made me feel more welcomed than I do even at my own home! She made ME and MY WISHES, DESIRES, WHATEVER her priority for the entire weekend in addition to driving all the way to New Jersey and back just to facilitate my visit. I owe her more than I will ever be able to repay, and here and now I want to make one thing forever clear....Cap City will always have a place to lay her head in my home!!! Thank you again my sistah....I will never forget my New York or YOU!!!

So if you are so inclined, please flip through my Smilebox and join me in my NEW YORK STATE OF MIND!!!

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