I recently returned from a trip to NYC for a couple of job interviews. Over the last year I have realized how much I have missed The City that Never Sleeps. Although Paris is my home, New York City is my crutch. On this trip I lined up two job interviews with two outstanding Non-Profit Organizations. my itinerary was to fly in to JFK at 1036am on Monday, and fly out of JFK at 904pm. The first job interview was at 200PM on Monday and the second job interview was at 200pm on Tuesday. Lucky for my, my most amazing, awesome and overall fabulous friends, Argus & Walter, let me stay in their guest room in Astoria. Argus and Walter have been such incredible friends to me, I am so lucky to have them in my life.
When I got back to NYC the chill in the air was the first to greet me, surrounding and embracing me like an old friend. I made my way to their house, to drop off my luggage, change and then headed on the train to the interview. The first interview went great, the position sounded like something I would love to do and would be lucky enough to get paid for doing it. I was so excited. Unfortunately, I hadn’t slept at all the night before because I was working an outreach shift, so I needed to get back to the guys house and get some much-needed sleep. I went back, and Argus and I made dinner. They make a ton of Blue Apron meals, and they are amazing at it, and when I’m over, they usually let me help prepare the meal. Of course, no good cook can work unless they have a delicious cocktail in their hands, and Argus and Walter are the best cooks I know. With dinner we finished a couple of bottles of wine and I finally passed out right after.
I needed that sleep, a full twelve hours, I awoke the next morning around 10am. I glanced out the window at the beautiful view of Manhattan that Argus and Walter’s place affords, and the snow is coming down so quickly. I love watching the snow fall, and was so excited at the thought that I would soon be walking in it. I took a long hot bath in their deep soaking tub and then got ready. I was meeting with Argus and my former supervisor, Kirk, for a birthday celebration lunch for Kirk. We went to Virgil’s BBQ, which was conveniently located a block south of their office in Times Square. We had a delicious hardy lunch, while we shot the shit for an hour or so. I was a little nervous about the interview on this day because it was located in the Bronx, which I have no familiarity with whatsoever. I’m usually good at finding my way around an unknown neighborhood and/or city, especially with my smart phone in tow. I said goodbye to the guys and made my way towards the Bronx.
I jumped on the 2 line and was lucky enough to get a seat. 15 minutes in to the ride, I was another 4 chapters deeper in to the Count of Monte Cristo when I heard the name of my stop approaching. I got up and made my way out of the station. The problem with my directional sense is that it isn’t any damn good. My father always boast about his being part native American and that he can know where he is going anytime, anywhere. I know most of the time he is just full of it, but I wish I had that at this time. I get out of the station and there is an intersection with 3 different streets all intersecting each other. I turn right, then another right, my GPS on my phone is showing I’m looking one way when I can see in front of my eyes I’m looking the other. I walk under an awning of a store that has been boarded up, to look at the streets and at my GPS and make sense of it all. The snow seemed to be sympathizing with me as it started to fall less frequently now. I figured out where I was and how I could get from point A to point B without any problems. I made it to the interview on time and ready to go. The interview went great and I was told I would hear back from them either on Friday or the following Monday. I was so excited. I jumped back on the train and headed to midtown.
Since this was such a short trip, and because I was too tired to do anything the day before, I just wanted to walk around a little to soak up as much of NYC as I could. I texted my friend JT to see if he could come out of his office for a quick smoke break and say hello. He hasn’t responded back so I just strolled the street in midtown, stopping at a bubble tea store and grabbing a yummy almond milk with bubbles. The snow knew I was at peace and started to come down as huge white fluffy flakes. NYC was welcoming me back, the way I wanted to be welcomed back. I strolled down a few avenues and made my way to JT’s office. He came down and we chatted through a couple of cigarettes. We decided that we wanted to be roommates again, and that we should start looking more seriously. I made the decision that I will be moving back to NYC, I missed my friends, the millions of entertainments awaiting, the volunteering, the scenery, the seasons…all of it. New York City can offer almost everything in the world, and I missed having that at my fingertips. JT and I hugged goodbye, promising to start our searches for apartments.
I made my way back to Astoria and started to pack my bags. I secretly wished that the snow would come down so hard the airport would have to close and I would get to stay another day, but I knew that would not happen. Argus and Walter came home, I kissed them both goodbye, thanking them profusely and promising to see them both very soon. I then made my way back to JFK and boarded the plane. Luckily enough for me, the back 7 rows of the plane were empty except for me, so I was able to stretch out and relax without worrying about people around me. It was a perfect ending to a marvelous trip. Old New York, I’m coming home!
Kevin Nicholas Gavit 