If any of you have ever seen the movie Office Space or Wanted and read the comic Dilbert, I think you would be able to adequately guess what Corporate America is like. I work in the Corporate Headquarters for a very large scrap recycling manufacturer and although the majority of company’s employees work in the “yard,” a few select individuals get to work in the Corporate building. I am one of those lucky individuals. I wear business attire, save for a tie and jacket to work, a far cry from my usual attire at school; and I am not allowed to use my “colorful” vocabulary. The work itself is not bad: I am putting together a management training guide, a stock option powerpoint, a ‘new hire’ powerpoint, and various other intern related work. But, as I am sure you all know, work can get very monotonous. So I decided to take a little vacation and head to New York City for the long weekend.

Three high school friend’s of mine and I took last Thursday off and drove all night to the Big Apple to visit a few friends living in Manhattan and Brooklyn. The drive only took 10 hours, allowing us to arrive in Manhattan at 9 in the morning for some legendary non-existent New York City traffic. Apparently everyone in the city likes to get the hell out of there whenever possible. There were no delays, traffic jams, or any such thing my entire time in the city. That was an added bonus. We parked in Brooklyn, on the street, allowing us to avoid some ridiculously expensive car garages, another added bonus. Armed with fanny packs, disposable cameras, lots of maps and tourist books, we took the city by storm (we also gave the peace sign and the thumbs up in every picture, sticking to true tourist form).

If you have never been there, it is an unbelievable time. I am originally from the city and every time I return, I have just as much fun. Being an unaware tourist is one of the joys of going to the city. Walking around, exploring, and taking in the sights can provide an individual with numerous days of activities. However, my friends and I were only allowed to wander around on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday so we had to make the best of our time. We hit Chinatown, Little Italy, Times Square, the Financial District (Ground Zero), Yankee Stadium, Central Park, Midtown, and all the tall buildings an acrophobic could handle.

By far the funniest thing we did was play stick ball and run-down in the middle of central park. Right in the middle of the park, where thousands of people walk everyday, we decided it would be fun, and extremely appropriate to start playing stick ball with a dead tree limb and a tennis ball we had just found. By the end of the game, numerous locals were watching our childish antics in awe and slight amusement. I don’t think we broke any laws because a few of “New York’s Finest” returned a foul ball to us with a chuckle. Also, the night life of the city is unparalleled in the United States. The city really does not sleep; people are really out all night. There was entirely too much for us to see but we sure tried our best.

The city was a welcome break in between the monotony of the work week and I strongly recommend a visit to the city at some point. And sightseeing is actually one of the more fun things to do on vacation, as I am sure Devin and Funstuff will confirm.

I hope everyone’s summer is going well and I will see you all soon,

Thomas

ps. The Dark Knight in 10 days