New York Muppet Magic

The words of the week are Big Apple!

Welcome to the NYC Special Edition of BC Beginnings!

I'll break with my normal blog entry here to set things up for you this week: there's a lot to cover and while I haven't included every detail, I did take many hours to write this week's entry. It's a substantial bit to read and I recommend reading only half at a time in order to take it all in, if you're one who really wants to read a great NYC adventure story.

Believe me, it was an incredible time and recounting it for you here was a joy for me to relive, all over again.

Oct 20 - Surprising Words

Just a brief entry about my critique group this evening:

The exercise I gave us all last month to complete was to write a short piece set in each of the other two worlds that the critique group writers have created. It was an exercise designed to test our ability to play in another person sandbox, so to speak, remaining true to their vision while bringing our own creative talents to telling the story.

Tonight, I was privileged to hear - for the first time ever - two stories written using characters of my own creation, set in the universe I created but written by other pens.

The joy, the wonder, the thrill that I felt as I listened to words I myself had not written, describing my characters, is an experience I'll never forget. The fact that those words were new to me, written wonderfully well, came as gifts: each sentence was a complete surprise as to what would happen next while retaining familiar feeling close to my heart.

With the permission of the other two writers, I hope to post the stories in a 'Fan Fiction' section of my website within a few month's time. Both stories are quite true to my universe's canon, so I feel that sharing them would be both delightful and also show my gratitude for my colleague's talents.

Oct 21 - New Phone, at last!

How could I forget?

Yesterday after work I picked up my new OnePlus One cell phone!

It wasn't easy, either; the courier pickup location was tucked away in the most inconvenient spot I've ever seen on the other side of Victoria. Even the address was incorrect, as it just leads you to the exit from the one-street that ran through the narrow parking lot. All the same, I managed to get in and out again before they closed at six o'clock and headed out to dinner with my parents with my new cell phone in hand.

I spent the rest of the evening, more or less, setting up the phone.

In doing so, I discovered that in the course of the last few years of owning a smart phone, I've managed to accumulate over 300 installed apps! That's a mind-boggling number, especially considering that I probably still use about half of them on a monthly basis, more or less.

Needless to say, it took quite a few hours to download and install the programs on my new phone. It would've been much easier if I had rooted the new OnePlus, but there simply wasn't time and to be honest, I don't like rooting a phone that's still under warranty, especially if I've just paid quite a hefty sum for it, to boot. Rooting would have allowed me to simply back up all the apps and other information from my old Samsung S3, then transfer them over to the new phone in a simple, mostly-unattended process.

But since I was leaving for New York in a few days, there wasn't any other option. I certainly couldn't bring my S3 with me, as it's batteries wouldn't last more than half a day at best, among all its other problems.

In brief, my new OnePlus is a joy to use: fast, responsive and very sleek. With 64 gigs of internal memory, it has all the space I need to install every app I could wish for and still have room for other things like movies or music, without having to expensively stream any data from the cloud.

Plus: no contract with Telus! *happy dance* Never again!

Oct 22 - Score!!!!

I had a feedback meeting at work today that astounded me.

In brief: last week, after receiving the news that I'd been hired on full-time at my day job, I  made an appointment to speak to one of the leads about how I've done in my interview.

I wasn't prepared for what I found out: it seems that I had done even better than I suspected!

in the meeting, I learned that the interviews were weighted at 60 points, with another 40 points assigned from references for a combined possible total score for each job candidate of 100 points.

I thought I had done well to be chosen as one of the four people in our office to be offered permanent jobs, meaning I had likely garnered in the range of 80 points or so. The lead told me that in order to be considered in the initial cut, candidates had to score at least 60 points total combined and from there more factors  would be applied to make the final cut.

Curious, I asked her what my final score was and when she answered, I was shocked:

I had scored 99 out of 100 possible points.

The team lead took pains to tell me that there was almost nothing she could advise me on to improve my interview. She told me that it was extraordinarily refreshing to have someone like me apply, as I set an incredibly high benchmark for the rest of the interviewees to measure up to. Rather than get a swelled head, I took her praise in stride, as she spent the next few minutes telling me how poorly so many of the interviewees had done which was incomprehensible considering the excellent preparatory resources made available to all of them.

I've left the office floating on a cloud; never in my life did I think that I would do so well at something so vitally important to my future. The confidence that I felt today will stay with me for a long time and show me how hard work can be so very well rewarded.

Oct 23 - Leaving for NYC

Today's the day!

I was up my usual time for a work weekday, but as I wasn't actually working today: I was going to New York City!

Tonight, though; I had all morning and a bit to pack, finally. I'd put together a short list of necessities and the like, but not too many: I'd be flying in overnight tonight, then staying the one night in my hotel and returning at dinnertime on the 25th. With such a short trip, there was no need to pack a lot, so I managed to fit everything into a backpack, along with a small messenger bag for my laptop. As it turned out, I could have left the laptop behind for all of the few hours in total that I used it on the trip, but that's another story.

Two O'clock arrived and I departed, a leisurely stroll downtown to the Airporter pickup spot at the Marriott. It was a beautiful day out and I really enjoyed the walk, especially as I wasn't rushing to get anywhere as I had plenty of time. I met the shuttle and was soon at the airport, where I made it through security in excellent time, enough so that I had several hours to fill before my flight. This is where used my laptop for the first and longest time this trip, watching a little Netflix and surfing in the airport lounge.

Soon enough I was winging my way towards Vancouver, a short 30-minute hop where I again waited, this time on a three-hour layover. As the airport was under renovation, it was not the greatest place to spend three hours and I was quite tired by the time I boarded the airplane along with the other passengers, heading to Toronto and from there to NYC.

Unfortunately, my plan to get some sleep on the flight was derailed by three factors: continuous turbulence for the first few hours and two chatty ignoramuses in the row behind me. I put up with their banter for the first hour, seeing as the turbulence meant nobody around us was sleeping, but after that I firmly made my feelings clear about their lack of courtesy towards the dozen passengers within earshot. I should mention that their conversation was in no way muted or whispered: they were laughing and talking at full volume even though everyone around them was quite obviously trying to get some shut-eye even once the turbulence had passed. 

Fortunately, getting called out actually worked to quiet them down and the rest of us were able to get some sleep for a couple hours before the flight landed at 3 AM( our time )in Toronto. After following some lovely purple Connections signs( signs from The Dark Crystal? )and another three hour layover( with breakfast! )I was finally on my way to NYC!

Oct 24 - The Big Apple

Flying towards New York City this morning in my window seat on the plane, I saw that there was quite a bit of cloud cover; indeed, for almost the entire way from Toronto I saw little of the ground below and I despaired of getting any good pictures of New York.

Boy, was I wrong!

About 30 minutes out from NYC, the cloud cover simply vanished and the sun appeared as if to say "Welcome, here's some blue skies and perfect weather for your arrival!" I just couldn't believe it, to go from nothing but clouds to an immaculately-lit cityscape below. I was all set with the 13MP camera on my new OnePlus phone and as my flight approached LaGuardia to land, I was able to snap several dozen perfect pictures of NYC, including the Manhattan skyline. The sun was in the perfect position to light the city and I feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to get photos such as this one before I landed at 11am:

The weather was perfect - it changed just in time for me!

Getting out of LaGuardia was simplicity itself, as again I didn't have any baggage to pick up. Once I was through the line at the taxi stand( a new experience for me ) it was slow going, as there was massive construction around the airport - spelled 'traffic jam' otherwise. Seeing the hundreds of unmoving cars, I despaired of making my 1 PM appointment at the Jim Henson Company, but I was lucky enough to have a very skillful cabdriver, who quickly got us out of the plugged main roads and onto the side streets. There his driving skills really shone, so much so that I emerged from the far side of terror at the speeds with which he negotiated the roads and simply sat back to enjoy the sights whizzing by in blurs too close to think about comfortably.

In less than 30 minutes I was in the neighborhood where I needed to be, where the cabdriver and I parted ways. I have to say that my first cab experience in NYC was great, not only for the skill and speed of the driver but the fact that he immediately warmed up to me after I chatted him up about why I was here visiting the city. It was because of him that I made it to the right neighborhood with plenty of time to spare. I was able to get some lunch at a local café before I needed to be at the Jim Henson tour -it was a funky organic place with delicious food and a comfortable view of the street. The place was a very relaxing spot to finally put my feet on the ground and stop after a long series of flights, with a touch of the whimsical inside that was perfectly in keeping with my reasons for being in New York today:

Somebody's bear-ly keeping awake...

Finally, it was time for the tour!

The building itself was easy to find from where I was and once I had taken the elevator up to the correct floor, I was greeted with this image:

The location must be kept secret...

A left turn and a short hallway led to an open door, through which I glimpsed… magic.

There were a few people there already and soon enough more arrived, as I was a few minutes early. I picked up my name tag from a table and was met by Z. Briggs, who runs the Henson Foundation and was the young lady that I was in correspondence with about all the details of my trip. She was gracious and bubbling with enthusiasm as she met all of us who were arriving; there were about two dozen people in total in the front room of the Henson Workshop, which was located in a large old industrial building which provides plenty of natural light to create all the incredible things they do there. Here's a few photos of the front room, which included quite a selection of 'live' Muppets as well as a custom-made Muppet Desk from a previous Workshop location which has fantastic inlaid-woodwork details:

Chery Henson and the Muppet Desk, plus fiends.

Cheryl Henson was there to meet us all, as gracious and friendly a person as I have ever met. She was genuine, enthusiastic and down to earth, greeting everyone there as though we were old friends who had dropped by for an impromptu lunch. Here's a pictures of her, as well as me and an old friend:

Cheryl was so lovely! And it was my first time using my pen name in public!

Then it was time for the tour! As you may have guessed, we were asked not to take any pictures of the workshop itself, as many of its creations were not 'live'  - that's the term that Cheryl and her company uses to describe any puppet that is not display-ready, meaning it's being worked on or repaired. They believe that it's discourteous for a puppet, which takes on a life of its own, to be captured in a photo in such a state - that does not reflect that magical belief that these creations are real in all the ways that matter to people.

We made our way through the workshop in two groups, as it was not an overly large space and there were probably about 30 people altogether who had been invited by the Jim Henson Company today. Winners from the short film contest went one way, while Creature Contest and AuthorQuest winners went another; our group was the latter and we were lucky enough to be given the tour by Cheryl Henson herself! We passed racks of Muppets under repair, other creatures and creations boxed up to ship to various places and all around us were the paraphernalia of what it took to make Muppets and their like. I made sure to watch where I was walking as well as leaning: there were many projects under construction which meant paints, foam, feathers and sharp objects abounded on work surfaces. It seemed almost otherworldly, to see Muppets in their various stages of creation.

There were few staff on hand, bustling about working on time-sensitive projects; we had the pleasure of meeting a few of them, including Connie Peterson who has been with the company for 40 years and has designed many Muppets, including the beloved Fizzgig from The Dark Crystal, one of my favorite Muppets of all time. She related to us several stories about her time working for the company, with everyone listening so intently you could have heard a pin drop. I'll relate those another time, once I manage to get the details straight in my head; there was just so much to take in that I can't keep it all straight right now.

From there we saw the rest of the workshop, which also doubles as a storage facility for many Henson projects and creatures, with about a third of the space given over to that function. The amount of time it takes to source materials and create projects means it is much easier to store them on site when they're not needed rather than trying fetch them from storage, again a good reason to have as large a space as they do. Other spaces included a dye room, where a much-battered custom washer and dryer are still being used after several decades to create the wonderfully-layered effect of many of the puppet's fabrics. 

Apparently after much experimentation, this was found to be the only reliable method that works and so the washer and dryer have traveled with the company since its earliest days. In that room, we all were able to play with an unusual Muppet that was being dyed green, looking like a cross between a wolf and Oscar The Grouch!  Cheryl Henson briefly donned the puppet and it was instantly obvious that she was a master puppeteer, from the way that her few skillful movements naturally brought the creature to life right before our very eyes.

It was, as I said, magic.

Soon enough, the tour had wrapped up, after seeing more areas packed with fabrics of all descriptions, a gluing room, more storage rooms containing fascinating selections from the history of the Henson Company and even a rather ordinary-looking broom closet. At the end of the tour, we all met up in the large front room again, happy grins and dazed looks of bliss alternating alike on everyone's faces. Cheryl Henson stood by the Muppet Desk and asked if anyone had any questions after the tour; there was a brief silence.

Then I spoke up to ask "Can we do it again?"

Cheryl Henson laughed and said "Sure, come on this way!" After exchanging startled looks of joy with one another, we all followed her down another hallway to a set of offices, where I took these pictures:

Jim Henson and a toy figure of Bert - not an actual Muppet!

We spent another 20 minutes or so listening to more stories that Cheryl graciously shared with us about Jim Henson and the company, as well as passing out several small mementos to everyone there. Cheryl brought us back again to spend a few more minutes in the front room, where she told us the story about the stained-glass window below. It was a gift to Jim Henson from an original writer of the Muppet show and depicts Jim Henson and Frank Oz working together on Sesame Street - it is simply stunning:

Jim Henson and Frank Oz

Sadly, it truly was time to go, as we'd spent close to an hour and a half in the Henson Workshop and everyone had to prepare for the Fan Fest that evening. It was a little surreal walking away back down the corridor, as though I was at the end of a dream and about to wake up, but didn't want to. I certainly will remember this experience for the rest of my life and I hope most of the details will come back to me again and again… in my dreams, for that's where the magic is born.

From the Workshop, two new friends from the tour group and I shared a cab heading to Brooklyn, which turned out to be quite an adventure as the cab driver had no idea where either of our destinations were located. As I'm a prepared traveler, I called up Google Maps on my phone and in conjunction with the live GPS map display in the back of the cab( high-tech, right? )I was able to pinpoint a route that would bring the ladies to their destination first and then take me westward across town to my own hotel. Thank goodness that I had the foresight to insert my RoamMobility USA SIM card in my phone at lunchtime, when I had had a few minutes as it proved invaluable in routing us properly through the maze of packed streets.

Once at my hotel, I had an hour to check in, freshen up and have dinner before the events of the evening, which actually managed to do, surprising myself. Dinner was to be eaten on the way and I chose poorly, chewing on the worst-put-together submarine sandwich I've ever had. There was nothing really wrong with it but there was also nothing really right with the way it was assembled: without care or attention. I ate about half while walking the mile from my hotel to the BAM( Brooklyn Academy of Music )location where the Fan Fest events were being held. I have to say that it was quite an interesting trot through the dusk, with a lot of characters among the crowd and the route was one that could only have easily been managed by a good GPS, which my new phone finally possessed. I made sure to glance at it covertly, however.

A classy, sharp-looking building

Finally I arrived at the theatre, on time for an early book signing by Brian and Wendy Froud! I was second in line, right behind my two friends from the tour earlier in the day, to get my copy of The World Of The Dark Crystal as well as the new book entitled Brian Froud Fairies Tales which I purchased there on the spot. Then it was on to the Dark Crystal Fan Fest in the theatre!

After finding our seats near the front row, the theatre began to fill up and I felt the excitement growing exponentially in the air: the energy from everyone was like lightning in a bottle. Yet I had no idea of how much excitement I was about to experience, for Cheryl Henson came over, taking an elegant suede vest from a bag and holding it out to me. "This looks about your size, so I'd like you to wear it," she said, smiling. I asked her what it was and she replied "It was my father's, he had it specially made to wear during the filming of The Dark Crystal, along with the outfit I'm wearing tonight."

She had chosen me, of everyone there, to wear Jim Henson's personal vest.

I am wearing Jim Henson's vest! *mindblown*

I was speechless as an incredibly silly grin bloomed on my face and after a few moments I managed to blurt "Yes, I'm thrilled, please!" or something like that as Cheryl held the vest while I put it on. It fit me perfectly, the dark suede beautifully soft with designs on it inspired by the Mystics from the film. I stood these for a little while, too stunned to do more than grin continuously at my friends in the row, until I had to take my seat as everything began… and I wore the vest the whole evening long! Nobody else was so honoured with any other clothing items... or anything else. 

So really, I DID go to New York to get an award! *happy dance*

The Fan Fest started out with an introduction by Cheryl Henson and she moved things along to the fun right off the bat, having the Frouds take the stage for a few minutes to talk about themselves, then their son Toby's short film Lessons Learned… which he then popped onto stage briefly to speak about. They were lovely people to listen to, honest and simple about the creative passions that had brought them to the theatre this evening in front of so many people who adored their work and were inspired by them all.

Cheryl Henson then introduced J.M. Lee, the winner of the AuthorQuest contest, who read us a short poetic ballad selected from the first draft of his recently completed full-length novel. It was a stunning piece, whose fluid verses were full of power and majesty while completely capturing the spirit of The Dark Crystal. The audience was moved to thunderous applause and there were smiles on everyone's faces while I thought to myself "If he can write that, then he more than deserved to win the contest!"

Cheryl Henson went onstage again to walk us through a wonderful visual presentation of the winners of the Creature Contest from last year, including my two new friends, Melissa and Nikki, whose entry 'Nym' was an Honourable Mention. The pair took the stage for a couple of minutes to show everyone the actual Nym, who they had brought all the way from BC just for this evening. She's an incredible example of hand-craftsmanship and I hope that they'll post some detailed photos of it soon on the Dark Crystal Forums. The presentation closed with the winner of the Creature Contest, Jeff Brown, coming up to briefly say a few words before was time for the films.

First was the short piece Lessons Learned by Toby Froud, a wonderful and whimsical feature about wisdom and life that showed the deep influences his parents had had on his creative talents while showcasing his own reach into fantasy. Here's a short trailer:

Now it was time for The Dark Crystal, the first time I'd seen the film in a theatre since it was released back in 1982! The feeling in the BAM cinema was electric and a hush instantly settled on the crowd as the film began; you could almost feel everyone being drawn completely into the screen as their minds tuned into the fantasy world.

I completely forgot about everything except the world of The Dark Crystal mere minutes into the film, the exact feeling that I'd had when I was a boy of nine years. Seeing it larger than life on the screen was all I needed to journey back to that time and live again through the eyes of that boy, to see with wonder what the mind of Jim Henson had created. Truly thrilling and experience that I'll never forget.

Once the lights had come back on and everyone had returned from that far place we had all shared a journey to in the flickering light, it was time for the private reception. I assisted my friends in bringing Nym around to the room on the third floor, where we found quite a crowd of people packed into the small space; BAM could easily have had twice the room and still had the event feel well-attended. Everyone was there by invitation only and I again felt extremely privileged in being able to be there tonight.

For a few hours, I chatted everywhere, feeling completely comfortable in my skin while talking to everyone and anyone about our shared passions - and The Dark Crystal, of course! I spoke several times to J.M.Lee, the winner of the AuthorQuest contest, who paid me several high compliments about my own entry, saying that my style was beautifully solid and evident of true writing talent. He also said that my entry reminded him of George RR Martin's Game Of Thrones series, in that I had wonderfully hinted at a vast history underneath the surface of the story, of things ready to come to light at any moment that would shake the world. 

J.M.Lee reading from his novel's first draft

As a budding author, those compliments sent me over the moon! Simply lovely words to hear tonight. My smile, if possible, got even wider and I walked around wearing Jim Henson's vest with my creative confidence redoubled.

Time passed in a joyful blur, during which I managed to talk to quite a few people… but unfortunately I didn't get a chance to speak to the Frouds as they were tied up with other people. There was no real way for me to break in without being rude - that's what happens when you're in a room with so many people that know them personally, I guess.

However, I did get a chance to speak to several of the Penguin Books representatives who were present at the reception as part of the AuthorQuest contest - both of them were editors, in fact, and I think I made a good impression while not making a fool of myself, on both points of which I am very pleased. They were wonderful people and I had an amazing couple of conversations with them about the book business in general, culminating in my exchanging cards, which I hope will prove fruitful in some way in the future. As a matter fact, I exchanged quite a few cards and again I hope that the personal friendships that were formed tonight will bloom and remained strong in the coming years. All of us certainly had much in common and there was a definite chemistry among many of us tonight, definitely brought on by the giddy excitement of where we were and who we were bumping elbows with this evening:

Aren't WE a good-looking fun bunch of Dark Crystal groupies!

All too soon it was time to go, with the BAM staff gently but firmly urging us to go elsewhere to continue our animated conversations. I was one of about a dozen people who ended up closing down the reception and six of us decided to continue the celebrations back at my hotel, which had both a stylish New York bar attached as well as secure storage for Nym: important points both. It was about 20-minute walk, which took longer because of the need to go more slowly while carrying Nym, but we made it in good order without getting lost in the dark and another hour passed most pleasantly while we chatted in the back corner of the elegant hotel bar.

Nobody ordered french toast, on my advice.

Parting ways at last, I went up to my room and collapsed, still smiling and all abuzz with the events of the day. I didn't think I'd be able to sleep, but my body knew better and before I knew it one of the most amazing days in my life was gently taken into slumber.

Oct 25 - Surprise!

My second( and last )day in New York didn't quite go as planned.

After a decent about to sleep, I was up and down stairs at the hotel restaurant for breakfast at 8 AM, planning on checking out immediately afterward to begin my exploration of Manhattan with a time-budget of about six hours or so.

Little did I know that an order of french toast would be my undoing.

After eating only one of the four slices, I suddenly felt queasy and decided to cut breakfast short to head upstairs, thinking that I'd instead I'd stop to get something somewhere else along the way to Manhattan after I had checked out.

I barely got to my room before I was sick.

That lovely image set the tone for the next three hours, which I miserably spent in my room trying to recover from. Obviously there had been something very wrong with my  breakfast and after I was sick a few more times, I rested intermittently between sips of water and chewing on some now-soggy toast I'd thought to bring with me to the room. After an hour, I felt stable enough to order room service: dry toast and a fruit bowl, which I needed to build up my electrolytes to stop my limbs from shaking. 

By 11 AM and half a fruit bowl later, I felt stable enough to check out and once downstairs, I told the front desk clerk in no uncertain terms that I wasn't happy. This resulted in my getting a ginger ale and the room service comped, which I thought was a good start and I'll be following up on with a carefully-worded letter soon after I return home; right then, I was in a bit of a hurry to reach Manhattan and make up for lost time.

Once outside, the fresh air and sunshine combined with exercise did their work and I felt semi-human once I reached the Brooklyn Bridge about a mile down the road. Brooklyn itself was actually quite pleasant, with some interesting and stately buildings along with pedestrian walkways and parks that made it quite attractive overall. The day was gorgeous, with many people walking along in just short-sleeved shirts, no jackets.

The Brooklyn Bridge took me about a half hour to walk across and was quite crowded: the wooden walkway atop the bridge deck( above the traffic )is divided in half, with pedestrians on the south side and cyclists on the right both sharing the same deck, which was only about 10 feet wide, making things rather hairy at times if you weren't watching out for speeding bicycles. The views made up for the danger, however:

It was a perfect day for a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge

Once across the bridge, I hot-footed it through an interesting-looking weekend outdoor market into Manhattan itself and started looking for a cab. Within a few minutes I had managed to snag one, given that the streets are quite crowded and go in various directions unfamiliar to me as a visitor to the city. Nonetheless, I was soon zipping through traffic on my way to the Empire State Building.

That's right: despite having food poisoning this morning, I was still determined to play tourist in the short time I had left in the Big Apple. So on the way to the ESB, I made a phone call to their front desk, which was answered by a wonderful man by the name of Ricardo. I explained to him that I had tried to buy an online ticket to take the Express route to the top of the building, but none of my phone's browsers had worked. To my delight, he simply said to come and see him when I arrived about a ticket.

A mere ten minutes later, I was in the lobby of the building and speaking to Ricardo, who waved over another uniformed ESB employee. They ushered me past hundreds of people waiting in line and up an escalator with the words "Just tell them you want an Express Ticket and KEEP saying that until you have one."

Ricardo rocks!

Magic words indeed!

They really were: I spoke to half a dozen uniformed ESB folks, each of whom directed me along narrow paths of velvet ropes that bypassed literally thousands of people waiting in line - all apparently unwilling to pay $50 for an Express ticket to the top of the ESB, which I found incomprehensible given that it was a minimum two-hour wait and likely far longer from what I saw as I trotted around the crowds.

A few more stops and some paltry-sized lines later, along with repeated phrases about having an Express ticket and I had made it to the elevators. The gorgeously decorated doors closed and I was whisked to the top of the building in only a couple of minutes, packed in with about 20 people all told. The doors opened and I stepped out in the lobby of the 86th floor atop the Empire State Building, where I had last been over 25 years ago. As you might expect, the views were unbelievable and although it was crowded, I managed to get some amazing pictures, thanks to the gorgeous weather that had graced the city just in time for my visit:

Looking south towards Wall Street - this view has changed since I was last here...

Unfortunately, I could only spend about fifteen minutes actually atop the building before I had to leave, quite happy with having sent a record of in getting up and down the ESB in less than an hour flat, despite the crowds. All too soon I was back downstairs, heading out of the lobby to hail another cab: there was still a second place I had to visit before I left Manhattan…

A toy store, of course.

FAO Schwartz, New York's premier toy store, was one of the few places I was unable to visit on my first trip to Manhattan more than decades ago. Today, I made a point of stopping there, if only just to see what it was like: I wasn't disappointed:

HALF the first floor was devoted to candy!

It was a BIG place - pun intended! I didn't see the piano though.

I met a couple of my friends from the night before, who were shopping here to create a unique character in the Muppet Whatnot Workshop located within the store. I thought it would be a fantastic thing to have and although it's not currently in my budget, you can order your very own genuine Muppet through the online site, which I may do in the new year to have as a souvenir both of my visit to the Jim Henson Company and FAO Schwartz combined. The store really was a magical place and I didn't manage to see much of it before again I had to leave, in order to catch my flight in a few hours time. JFK Airport was almost an hour away and I didn't want to take the chance that traffic would add too much to that travel time. 

Next time...

By this point in the day, a few hours after I left the hotel, I was still feeling weak and woozy, so I stopped for a revitalizing salad at a little hole-in-the-wall shop across from FAO Schwartz( all they had was candy! ). Their fresh, delicious salad did the job and I was soon in another cab headed towards JFK airport, bidding farewell to Manhattan in the cab's rearview mirror.

My driver was again friendly, warming up to me almost immediately as I filled him in on how my visit to New York had gone; I left out the food poisoning, though. He showed his incredible navigational skills early, taking us around two separate major traffic jams in the city to connect with the correct highway leading to the airport through a maze of back streets. He was able to get me to the airport in 45 minutes flat, a superhuman effort by anyone's measure, given how crazy the traffic was and the time of day.

He definitely earned his good tip - thanks, Mirhad!

Once at the airport, luck was again with me: as I was standing last in line at the security checkpoint, a guard walked up on my left and unhooked the velvet rope. She smiled and told me to proceed to the First Class Security Gate instead, directing the people behind me to do the same. Needless to say, I didn't argue and trottedit in that direction, happy  to see that there was only one line and it held barely a dozen people. Only ten minutes later, I was through and into the airport proper, for a combined total time of less than an hour having passed from when I left Manhattan until I was waiting for my flight.

Knowing how large an airport JFK is and how much traffic was still plugging all the roads outside, I think this was some of the best luck I've had during this trip. I was able to relax, get something to eat and drink and finish off my salad, feeling better all the while, although I was still rather tired from everything that had happened from the day's activities as well as yesterday's excitement.

Not to mention the funky french toast.

As the clouds rolled in( perfect timing again! )my departure flight from New York City was quite pleasant, as my seatmates were an older couple who had been visiting New York for the first time, taking a week to do so. They were quite cute and quietly played cards for most of the flight, as well as taking an interest in my own experiences of New York City, which we compared notes about as to the best places to visit. I'll definitely have to try some of their tips next time I'm in the Big Apple.

After brief stopover in Calgary after a long flight, where I chowed down on some much-needed Tim Horton's food, I was on the final leg of my journey home. I could feel the fatigue of the trip growing but I couldn't fall asleep, as my mind was full of images and experiences from my excursion. Landing on the tarmac in Victoria, I felt the pull of home and was soon on a bumpy ride down the highway towards my waiting bed. The whole way back, starting from my liftoff from JFK, I went over my memories, making sure to cement their details so that they would stay fresh for my blog here tonight.

Once I was home, I slung my bags down, unpacked a couple things and then called it a night. I fell asleep with a smile on my face, unforgettable memories in my mind alongside dreams of Muppets and magic in my head.

Oct 26 - Recovery

What else could today be but a gentle dénouement from my trip to NYC?

I do wish I'd been able to sleep in, but my body seemed to know what time zone I was in and woke me close to my usual time, around 7 AM. I did manage to negotiate another hour of fitful sleep-in before I got up at last. Unpacking took about an hour, as I had a lot to straighten out and file, but I did take the time to print a few pictures and arrange them thusly:

A little NYC magic in my living room...

After writing a good chunk of my blog for a few hours, my afternoon was spent assisting my mom, whose computer had semi-suicided the day before. I succeeded in getting the thing to boot properly after some work and then spent more time restoring some basic software functions to it, definitely not what I wanted to do immediately after returning from a very fatiguing trip, but it was necessary. In no way am I feeling back to normal energy-wise, but I did eat a decent breakfast and a solid lunch today.

I also take the time out for a few hours to go visit Float House Victoria, where I floated in my first sensory-deprivation tank. To be honest, it was a little disappointing, as nothing revelationary happened except some mild relaxation, despite my efforts to achieve a meditative state. I'll have to try again another time, perhaps with some music of my own choosing and with the idea in the minds to explore story possibilities related to my novel - I think that's a worthy initial goal.

Most of the rest of my evening was spent putting together this blog, as well as several photo albums for Fbook of my Henson Company Tour and the Dark Crystal Fan Fest. At over 7000 words, this is one of the largest single entries I've ever written for BCB and I have to say I could include probably half again as much, though the little details would only mean something to me, I suppose. Things like my room being on the 13th floor, or picking the one cab in New York who has no idea where he's going yet he's been doing it for a year successfully: things like that just make me smile and think about how strangely the universe works.

I wonder what next week will bring?

That's about it: my entire trip, all laid out for you to enjoy step-by-step. It's a lot to take in, but as I said, well-worth the effort. I'll probably re-edit this entry next weekend in order to catch all of the little mistakes I've made, given that it's triple the usual blog entry size that I write each week. As well, my fatigue is making me punchy and I've had to re-read more than a few sentences in order to assure myself that I'm not just typing gobbledygook. I think the next time I travel somewhere far away, I'll make sure that if I have to have layovers, they will be on the return flight so that I can type up my blog entry in a leisurely way as I wait for my flights. The memories from my vacation will still be fresh and I'll be able to capture all the important little details that usually fade with time. Until then, I hope you have a wonderful week; Halloween's just around the corner!