Assuming it began around age 11 when I first saw Dunston Checks In, my obsession with New York City has raged on for a solid 15 years. I don’t know how I made it to (almost) 26 without ever visiting, but I also don’t know how I ended up doing a lot of things so I figure it’s best to not overanalyze the situation.

Before we go diving into a week’s worth of ranty recaps, a few brief introductions are in order…

The Cast of Characters

One morning I walked into my sociology of gender class and nonchalantly mentioned that some campus organization was handing out free donuts in the lobby. Amber jumped up from her desk faster than I’ve ever seen her move in her life and bolted for the door. In a twist of sweet, glorious fate, her foot was stuck in her backpack and she fell on her face. In front of the class. Running to get a free donut. It was perfect.

Glanz and I spent the better part of our first year out of college unemployed (and subsequently drunk) at the same time. One afternoon we decided to forgo our bar crawl and go to a baseball game. Why? No one knows. We got really into it and made t-shirts and everything. We made it only as far as the stadium parking lot where we proceeded to drink whiskey with nary a sports game in sight. We also adopted a wicker monkey named Pedro from a church rummage sale. He’s a lawyer now and is going to try and sue me for this slander, no doubt.

In four years of college, Sandwich slept a total of approximately 15 minutes. It was impossible to catch the girl off guard since she was always, you know, awake. Unless, of course, you bury yourself under a pile of laundry on top of her bunk bed and burst out screaming Britney Spears lyrics when she enters the room. I’ve never seen anyone hit the ground so fast or so hard. Except that time Amber fell trying to get a donut. She’s on her way to India for a year where I should hope there are no laundry monsters to be found. If there are, she’ll be ready for them.

If you ever get to meet Lindsay (and everyone should certainly hope that they do), you should know that she will chug juuuust about anything if you tell her you’ll buy her next one. This little Achilles’ heel of hers has led us into many a wild and raucous evening. If the night’s not picking up steam like it should, get Lindsay chugging cosmos and you’re well on your way to some pretty solid entertainment. She’ll be Dr. Lindsay in four short years, but I bet our twisted little game will still work then.

Isaac claims he doesn’t fart. Everyone knows this to be a physical impossibility, but not Isaac. He holds strong to his claim even though I once called him out in front of a room full of 40+ people for not so silently letting one rip. You can’t pull the wool over these eyes, sir. Isaac changes his life plan every 15 minutes so it’s hard for me to catch up but last I heard he’s bribing everyone to move to NYC when he does…

And then there’s me. I’m sure my friends have a couple stories but this is my blog sooo… I’m perfect.

So there you have it. These are, with a few exceptions for those who couldn’t join us, my favorite people. We reunite at least once a year and it always proves to be an unforgettable time.

Day 1

My first morning in NYC started way to early with a 6am flight from Charlotte. I got to Sandwich’s apartment and we made a beeline for coffee and smoothies at the Green Bean.

Which was followed by a long, lovely stroll through Central Park and an insane aerial yoga class that was all kinds of awesome.

I kind of hated anti-gravity yoga but once I got the hang of it I found it to be relaxing and challenging all at once. Afterwards I felt like jello and can see how it’s a great workout.

By the time we were done, the rest of the crew was beginning to assemble and we headed over to peacefood cafe for an amazing vegan lunch. CHICKPEA FRIES CHICKPEA FRIES CHICKPEA FRIES.

I got chickpea fries and a tempeh avocado sandwich. I.was.so.happy.

And for dessert? None other than the infamous chocolate chip walnut cookie from Levain.

This is the best cookie I have ever eaten in all my life. It’s like a 1/2-pound glob of warm cookie dough. So right. Maggie makes a mean replication of Levain’s cookies, which means I’ll be making a mean replication of Maggie’s replication soon.

Before a very special dinner and one very special restaurant that, according to Sandwich’s not so cryptic clue rhymes with “handle levan tee fine,” we strolled through Chelsea Market where I pretended to be the Next Food Network Star.

To be continued over dinner…