A Quick Bite of The Big Apple
As soon as I started planning this trip, I kept thinking, "Man, I need some New York in my veins." I couldn't wait until the summer to hop on a plane, so I planned an impromptu trip to New York to catch the fashion exhibit at The Met finally. I originally planned to head to the East Coast during Memorial Day weekend (so I wouldn't have to use up any PTO), but then a lovely invitation from Vogue Club landed in my inbox. They were hosting their annual Night at the Museum, where club members can gather and explore the fashion exhibit for free. So instead of waiting until the end of the month, I had two weeks from my Vancouver trip to pull together the funds for my next adventure. Challenge accepted.
I wanted to find other fashion-related things to do. So I added stopping by the SKIMS Pop-In at Nordstrom to my calendar. I also wanted to catch the "Statement Sleeves" exhibit at The Museum at FIT, but the museum was closed. No worries. I'll just catch their next exhibit "Africa's Fashion Diaspora" when I head back to the city in the fall. I also thought about going to the Newark Museum of Art to catch their exhibit, but the museum isn't open on Monday - Wed, the days I was in town.
When planning trips, there are a few guidelines that I like to follow. Specifically, not booking early morning flights. I forgot that one since I had to set three alarms for 3:00 am, 3:15 am, and 3:30 am to make sure I got up in time to get dressed and finished packing before my Lyft arrived to catch my 6:30 am flight. One new guideline I’ll have to implement is packing my jacket in my carry-on after making it to the airport because the shuffling and stuffing I had to do just to grab things out of my backpack on the plane was a headache. I might also need to get some better wireless headphones since mine were dead after about three hours of listening to Giggly Squad.
I guess this trip is meant to be my annual trial run for traveling. I’ve been bored in the house since last October and I’m ready to be outside with some warm weather (finally!), but I feel like it’s taking me a while to get situated.
After landing, enjoying a delicious steak at my hotel's restaurant, and getting a good night's sleep, I woke up on Tuesday morning refreshed and ready to pound the NYC pavement. While sipping my coffee, I contemplated finally being brave enough to take the subway from Times Square to Midtown. I couldn't do it. I rationalized that I could get my steps in by walking. No matter how many YouTube videos I watch about how to navigate the subway system, I always lose my nerve at the entrance of a station. Maybe next time? Or maybe I should find someone to take it with me since I think my main fear is going underground by myself. Which is crazy, because I have no problem heading underground to catch the light rail in Seattle.
Thirty minutes later, I made it to Nordstrom to experience the pop-up. Overall, it was meh... I intended to buy a few things, but there was only a limited number of tanks, boxers, and dresses. So I decided to save my money. Next, I enjoyed lunch at Jeannie's and made my way back to my hotel to rest for a while and get ready for the event. I total, I clocked 14,371 steps that day. I walked the length of a 10k, which seems to be the norm every time I'm in the city. As opposed to Seattle, where I have to force myself to get my 10,000 daily steps in.
On Wednesday morning, I enjoyed some lazy time before getting dressed and heading to the airport. While lounging, I received an email from Vogue Business about an event in September, Fashion Futures NYC. It got me thinking about making the most of the events I attend and being able to utilize the takeaways in my future work. Even though I enjoyed the museum event, I didn't learn anything from it. Then I thought about what I'd learn from attending NYFW in the fall. I'd just be attending fashion shows and maybe a few lectures or "fireside chats", but would I be able to network with people? So I made a decision right there. Instead of attending NYFW, I'd attend Fashion Futures and prepare to make myself attractive to actual industry professionals in hopes of building my network and finally making my big move to the East Coast.
I bought my ticket that morning. Thankfully, as a Vogue Business member, my ticket was half the price. So that's it. Decision made. 2024 will be the last full year I spend in Seattle. By the time my lease is up next February, I'll be on my way to the East Coast. Of course, I have a plan in place. Some tactics may change over time, but the goal will remain the same. It's time for the next chapter.
