winter in NYC

Well, today was a fun day. I arrived at my customer office to find no one there. The predicted snow apparently scared everyone into working from home. Which was great because I was able to get some work done.

Except that, the predicted snow storm became reality around 10 am this morning. It started out as a few harmless flakes but soon became a driving snow storm. After my last conference call, around 3, I decided I had better pick up my luggage at the hilton and head to my new hotel next to La Guardia.

So, this is why people travel with umbrellas I thought to myself as I slipped and slid down a sidewalk covered in ice as the snow blew sideways and also from above. My lightweight biking jacket did little to keep me warm, but at least I wasn't wearing boots with 4 inch heels like most of the women staggering around my office building. I walked one mile through this weather mess to get to my hotel, and arrived at the bell hop station sopping wet with a bloody nose and medusa looking hair. I seriously had a pile of snow on top of my head (the bell hop brushed it off with a kleenex).

While another guy got my luggage the poor bell hop tried to get my nose to stop bleeding. He kept telling me to blow my nose, which I didn't think I was supposed to do, but it seemed to work. Then they sent the concierge out to find me a cab while I waited in the relative warmth of the marble lobby where a cleaning woman was mopping up the trail of blood I left from the door to the bell hop desk, not realizing that my nose was bleeding. The concierge was standing out in the street flapping his arms like a bird as the cabs drove by. Finally he stepped in front of a cab that was off duty, and the cab driver agreed to take me to La Guardia (flapping your arms at a cab is the way to indicate you need a ride to the airport, or so the bell hop told me). The hilton guys gave me an umbrella, packed my shit in the cab, and told the driver to take good care of me. I tried to tip them but they wouldn't take my money. Perhaps they wanted me off their property quick like before my nose started bleeding again.

The driver was a great guy from India who took me the back way to La Guardia since many streets were closed. He cranked the heat up to like 90 degrees since I was shivering uncontrollably (going from 74 degrees to driving snow in two days, yeah, I don't recommend it). It took us an hour to get to the hotel (should have taken 20 minutes) and the whole time I could feel the cab hydroplaning and the brakes skipping along as the tires tried to get some traction. At one point I thought a bus was going to crash into us but luckily we were sliding in the same direction and the bus missed us by an inch. Seriously an inch.

When we got to the hotel the cab driver said "don't move!", jumped out and ran inside. It reminded me of one of my trips to the emergency room. Two guys came out and grabbed my stuff and took it inside (including my bag - I always laugh when I see a man carrying a woman's bag but they insisted - I should mention here that I've lost my marshal badge off my bag which makes me very sad as my co-author will likely use that as an excuse for not writing and I will also now have to find a new way to make people think I'm a cop so I can board the plane without having to shove my way through a line).

I thanked the cab driver for getting me there safely and for taking me even though he was off duty. I told him I hoped he would get home safe and he took my hand and said "everything you wish for me I wish for you" which I thought was very sweet. And then the hotel staff put me in the presidential suite, I had a good workout in the gym facilities which were next to the sauna so I was warm for the first time today, and the maid just showed up with a bottle of water and some chocolates, and that is why I like to live in hotels, besides not having to make my bed or clean the bathroom.

Nice.