Tropical Storm Hanna and Other Small Disasters...

"There's a tropical storm headed this way," my friend Brian mentioned over lunch at S'MAC (a restaurant in the East Village that serves only MAC N'CHEESE i.e. my dream come true :) I don't know whether it was the Mac N'Cheese induced food coma or the fact that I didn't really know a tropical storm could hit New York City that caused these words of caution to fly in one ear and out the other, but whatever it was they did, because only several hours after Brian had issued his words of warning I found myself, along with my friends Jenn and Emilie, soaked to the bone in Washington Square while frantically hailing every taxi that drove by. I don't think I have ever had so much fun in the rain...

The evening had started off civilized enough. Jenn and I had had a lovely dinner at Klong in SoHo. Emilie joined us after the Dolce & Gabana show. We met up with Elissa and Michael (Euro travel buddies) at a bar nearby. Then the evening went to hell. We had decided to take pictures in Washington Square, but as soon as we arrived at the square Tropical Storm Hanna started to rage. The rain was literally coming down in sheets. We did our best to stay dry, but there was just no avoiding it. After almost an hour of trying to hail a cab we decided to make a run for the Subway, where we arrived completely soaked (we were literally wringing out our dresses in the station). We had a lot of laughs over the whole evening and went to bed, sure that the storm would blow over by morning.

After our eventful evening in the rain, Jenn, Emilie and I headed to the Theatre District in the morning to get student rush tickets for "Spring Awakening" (great! I would definitely recommend). We decided to hang around Times Square for a bit so that Emilie and I could take some pictures and while we were there we happened upon a little street fair with vendors selling clothes, jewelry, tacky souvenirs, etc. It was then that we discovered that my camera had been stolen. Surprise!! I guess I'm not the savvy traveler that I pretend to be because I made the mistake of putting the camera in the outside pocket of my backpack...oops! But, these things are bound to happen so it's probably best if they happen at the beginning of the trip, right? I made a quick call to my dad who, after consulting Consumer Report, suggested that I get a Canon Powershot SD 1100. It takes great pictures AND comes with a USB cable so that I can upload photos to share (I had lost the cable for my other camera- so there's a silver lining to all of this I suppose).

The day carried on in this same strange manner. Jenn's phone had been ruined in the rain the night before so we almost missed the matinee when we couldn't find her roommate, Kristina...or her phone number...Most of the early afternoon was incredibly muggy and after getting out of the matinee Hanna had returned, only this time in full force. I've never seen such a downpour. Jenn, Emilie, Kristina and I decided to take refuge in a cafe around the corner from the theatre until the storm passed....which didn't actually happen...so we got soaked, again, and then finally made it back to Jenn's apartment for some much needed rest. I've never wanted a nap so badly in my entire life...

Unfortunately, the nap wasn't meant to be because no sooner had we arrive home than we were out the door again, heading to a bar that Emilie had heard about called Highbar. Apparently this roof-top, semi-enclosed, cabana style bar is extremely difficult to get in to, but we found out a way to beat the system....go during a tropical storm! Awesome! That way not only are you guaranteed to get in, but you're also guaranteed to have the entire place to yourself! Yes, it happened...and it was really awkward.....especially since we were dressed to the nines...and all alone....

Emilie took off to meet a friend at another fashion week show and Jenn and I headed home to grab a bite and to change into jeans before heading out to a winebar...but just as I was finishing my snack a friend of Jenn's called her to come meet up with them at Columbus Circle...where we had literally just been. So, we got back into the cab and headed to meet them, after which we crashed a party for Columbia MBA students at a club called Eden (it looked like the decor had been ripped from an episode of "Under the Umbrella Tree"). While all of the serious MBA students were networking we were dancing the remainder of the night away to awful, awful techno...thus ending the absolutely most bizarre day I have had in a very very long time...