So everyone's happy and no one went to jail? What a waste.

Spring Break has come to an end. Sigh. It was a wonderful break from reality. My sister Katie came out to New York for the week, which was wonderful. It's always nice to be able to spend time with family. I loved having my sister here in my neck of the woods, and I miss her already!

We had some crazy adventures while Katie was on the East Coast. We spent a couple of days in Albany. We met the mayor of Lark Street and a guy who was not a bum because he was gay. He needs to rethink his lines. We were going to go on the tour of the capitol building and all that, but we missed the tour by like a minute and a half. But we still got to see this random tunnel and, I don't know how else to describe it, but like a flea market inside. That was new. My sister got to experience the glory that is New York style pizza.Yum!

We also went to Ben and Jerry's ice cream store and went to a glorious little Indian restaurant.

The next day we headed out to New York City!! Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed we were, metaphorical bells on our toes, excitement exuding from our collective anticipation.Ok, we might have been a little tired. But still, our excitement was almost tangible! We drove over the Millenium Bridge, took the bus through New York, and then rode through the Lincoln Tunnel.

I'm a big fan of big cities. I feel safe in assuming that Katie is also a fan. I love the anonymity of them. New York City is so diverse; it doesn't matter who you are, you belong. You belong because you're different, and in being different you're the same. It's a gloriously circular logistic nightmare. Anyway, so I love New York City. I could live there happily.

Anyway, back to Spring Break. The first stop was the metro. We got on the wrong one at first, and some nice man helped us get off the wrong one and find the right one. So, once we got on the right metro we managed to get to our hotel. Which was super nice, by the way. I've always wandered what it would be like to stay in a Hilton; now I know. It's super nice. Anyway, we wasted no time at all! We dropped our stuff off and headed out for MOMA (Museum of Modern Art). We promptly got lost. But eventually we figured out where the hell we were and how the hell we were supposed to get to MOMA. Success!

MOMA was cool. It was huge; we only saw a few of the exhibits they had there. Some of them were incredible, moving, profound. Some of them were . . . less so. One of the exhibits was a giant bale of hay. Just a bale of hay. Perhaps I'm obtuse in my artistic views, but I fail to see how that is artistic at all. It's just a damn bale of hay. But anyway, some of my favorite exhibits were, of course, the ones with words. There was an exhibit that was slightly strange, but it had such a powerful message about what it means to be human and how we view our bodies, our obsession with our bodies.I also really liked this exhibit. We went to the photography area. Some of the pictures were really cool; some were very strange. They also had an entire room dedicated to music. It had music videos, and mini-documentaries on certain songs that had an impact on a generation. Very cool.

After MOMA, we decided we were starving. Katie wanted to experience the street vendors. One of my friends suggested we try the Halal Cart on 52nd street. As luck would have it, 52nd street was right next to our hotel. So we went to the Halal Guys on 52nd street. It was so good! I had to make myself stop eating because I was so full, but I wanted to keep eating it! It was delicious. If you are ever in NYC, go to the Halal Guys on 52nd street (but if they tell you they have coke, they're lying!)

After a, um, quick nap, we took the metro (the right one on the first try!) to a place called Century 21. It's like a TJ Maxx for the big wig designers most of whom I, of course, had never heard of. I am apparently very out of style. That was kind of fun though. We got some fun pictures.I also finally bought a suit. Bleh. But it's Calvin Klein, so that's cool, right? And it was on sale which is definitely cool. Anyway, Century 21 was fun. It was also across the street from the World Trade Center. That was strange. It just looked like construction, nothing special. If there hadn't been a sign, I never would have known that's where the WTC used to be. I'm sure the monument will do more justice to the victims when it's finished.

After Century 21, we went back to our hotel and dropped off our wares and headed out into the night! Katie wanted to see the Empire State Building, which you would think would be easy to find. You would be wrong. We got lost again (the Chrysler Building had us confused for a second). I made the awful mistake of picking a chain restaurant for dinner... I was so hungry! But they had gelato, so that was a plus. We also accidentally stumbled upon Grand Central Station, so that was serendipity.After much adventures, we finally made it to the Empire State Building. It was cool, but kind of anti-climatic, honestly. It cost $21 (and that doesn't even take you to the top) and then you get to look out at the city, which really is kind of cool.This is Katie and I on the observation deck at the Empire State Building. I think it's on the 82nd floor.

After the Empire State Building we went back to our hotel and chilled for a bit. The next day was St. Patrick's Day! St. Patrick's Day is a big deal on the east coast. In NYC they have a big parade, so Katie and I checked out of our hotel room and headed over to see the parade. One of my friends was also in NYC that day, so we met up and he showed us around the city a bit. We got to go to central park, Soho, Greenwich Village, and Nolita I think? Anyway, lots of walking. Then the bus back to Albany. Oh sigh; I miss NYC already.

After we got back to Albany, we went to karaoke night at Elda's! Katie and I rocked the shit out of that joint! So much fun!Katie and I sang some Joan Jett and, of course, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!One of my friends joined us for that show stopper. :D So much fun!

Then it was Friday and I had to take my sister back to the airport. I had some serious sister withdrawals this weekend. It was an awesome spring break, and I'm so glad Katie was able to come out here. The weather was also fairly nice, for New York anyway, so that was a definite plus. It was an excellent week which was, as vacations always are, over far too quickly. May the epic-ness of this spring break live on forever in our hearts!