Big Apple

I think I may have to spend all of 2013 asleep because a) this year is going to wear me out and b) I feel bad for any year that has to follow this one.

I got to spend the last week in New York mixing work and fun-often at the same time-and seeing a whole bunch of faces I love and miss. I don't want to sound like braggy mcbraggerson but here are some highlights....

*spending the weekend with my dear Jed, his delightful boyfriend and their two roommates Craig and Derek. We ate yummy things, shopped and laughed and laughed and laughed.

Sunday brunch on the Upper West Side

Shopping

Boys hailing cabs

Girl shoes, boy shoes

*my friend Kristin randomly being in New York for 48 hours and getting to sit in a restaurant for two hours with her catching up and planning our eventual take over of the company she just joined.

*finally getting to meet a replikate reader who had kindly been saying nice things about this blog for many years. It was just a few minutes in the lobby after a long day for both of us but such a treat to finally get to see her in the flesh.

*my pal Dallas and I almost not getting to see each other and then a fortuitous cancellation of plans meant we finally got to catch up after many NYC near misses.

*my coworker Jon and I basically doing whatever we wanted on the set of The Today Show. We unveiled the Closing Ceremonies outfits last week and had several other segments showcasing various athletes. Jon was handling PR and I was the apparel police. I met the first black woman to win a Gold medal in 1948, shook hands with Missy Franklin's mom and nearly trampled Julie Andrews on the stairs.

A Today Show cameraman took this for Jon and me. We couldn't stop laughing.

Jason Richardson and Allyson Felix in two pieces from the Nike London collection. You'll probably see these two on a medals stand this summer. 

I maybe tried to put a women's XL on a water polo player. Oops. 

Getting miked up to talk about the Closing Ceremonies uniforms

Countdown clock-this time I have a head

Alice Coachman-Gold medalist in High Jump from 1948. Pretty freakin' awesome to meet her.

*after the Today Show we went down to Times Square for the 100 Days Out Celebration that included a BMX jump, a Donald Trump visit and me running into like a million people I love. I also scurried around like a madwoman making sure the 60 Olympic hopefuls onsite had jackets when it got a little nippy and that no one was wearing a rogue big cat or three stripes. Apparel police!

The Donald with Diana Lopez and Tim Morehouse. People go nuts for this guy. 

Our dapper Director of Consumer Products and my contact from Ralph Lauren celebrating after a successful launch segment.

Just Carl Lewis, Greg Louganis and Shannon Miller on stage. No big deal right?

BMXers on Times Square. So cool.

Caught our Chief Communications Officer looking super debonaire (he was ordering pizza)

*My last night in New York, we had dinner at Jed's again. We wrapped up at about ten and I was getting ready to leave, Jed got a little glint in his eye. "So my friend does this thing on Thursday nights where he invites a different Broadway star to come sing in a tiny little theater-starts at 11, you game?" So my high school theater nerd senses started quivering and suddenly, Jed and Amanda and I were sitting in the front row listening to Julie Reiber sing the songs from Wicked that SHE SANG WHEN SHE PLAYED ELPHABA ON BROADWAY. After Julie was done, the host does an open mic segment where all kinds of Broadway chorus members get up and sing their favorite show tunes. It was unreal-one after another these amazing voices for almost two hours. We paid all of $5 to sit there.  At the end of the night, Jed's friend had everyone in the room get up onstage and sing "Seasons of Love" together. It was like some kind of surreal dream come true. We ended up right next to another Broadway Elphaba and the girl who played Glinda and is now on "Smash." My 15 year old self was having a nervous breakdown. 

Oh you know,  just onstage with a bunch of Broadway stars. Normal thursday. 

I got home Friday and pretty much slept all day Saturday. It's mid-April and I already feel like I've had enough incredible experiences to last me ten years. I feel incredibly blessed right now and I'm trying very hard to enjoy every second of it. The pace and the pressure takes it's toll now and then and I have anxious nights where I hardly sleep a wink. But for the most part, it's a ride I can't believe I'm getting to take.

The best part though? In two weeks I'll be in St. George watching my little brother complete his first Ironman and getting to spend time with my nephews. And of all the cool things happening in 2012, this is what I'm looking forward to most. Shaking hands with Olympic legends, flirting with water polo players, eating at fancy restaurants and going to cool parties still can't hold a candle to being with the people I love. Of all the accomplishments in my life, keeping my priorities straight is probably the thing of which I am the most proud.