I flew into New York as the snow was falling. Though Charleston’s weather was a balmier 55 when I left home (I went to the beach on Christmas day!), there was nothing better than the big, beautiful snow flakes that greeted me. It was my first New Year’s Eve in the city, after all those years of watching the ball drop from my basement TV in grade school.
I had a few hours to waste before getting ready for the evening, so I decided to venture
out to see the holiday decorations one last time. I glimpsed Times Square in the distance as I was crossing 7th Ave and spotted the New Year’s Eve Ball. What seemed like a small shining orb from a distance was an 11,875 pound mass covered in 2,668 Waterford Crystals and powered by 32,256 LEDS. Beginning this year, the Ball will sit atop One Times Square year-round and add to the brightly lit skyline on 42nd Street and Broadway. Seeing it in person, I couldn’t understand all the fuss.
I spent the next hour walking around Rockefeller Center and 5th Avenue, gawking at the tourists taking pictures. I entered the Saks Fifth Avenue wonderland. Not only did they have snowflakes projected on the façade of the buildings, they had a small light show inside. My favorite store front was probably the Cartier building with the 50+ ft bright red light-up ribbon across the front of the building.
I headed back to my boyfriend’s apartment (Colin Fechter ’08) at 5 p.m., thinking that I would beat the rush and street closings. But no, they had already begun. I was forced to wander uptown until finding a street that let pedestrians cross west. I had never seen so many cops in
one place in my entire lifetime. One large Police van was even blasting The Rocky theme song on loudspeaker!
I got off the street and into my little black dress. We headed down to our $150-a-head party at Capitale, a swanky club on the Lower West side that was built in 1893 and used to be a bank (I copied the picture on the left from their website...full disclosure). Though I thought the night was pricey, the scene was amazing. It was like the high school prom I never had, and with hundreds of beautiful people between the ages of 20 and 30 years old. For the lovers of the Princeton social scene, it was like Cottage House parties on steroids, but without the terribly repetitive 80s music. There was an open bar and buffet, an enormous dance floor (my favorite), and ceiling lights that changed from red to purple to green. Other studly Princetonians spotted included Colin, Kane Hochster, Amara Suebsang, Chris White, Mark Gober, and Phil Farinacci.
As I write this post a day later, I’m left wondering what other classmates were doing in New York last night. Were you in Times Square? Did you overpay for a mediocre experience? Did you crash a friend’s party and drink for free? If nothing else, I hope you basked in the energy and the common joy of the night.
I had a few hours to waste before getting ready for the evening, so I decided to venture
out to see the holiday decorations one last time. I glimpsed Times Square in the distance as I was crossing 7th Ave and spotted the New Year’s Eve Ball. What seemed like a small shining orb from a distance was an 11,875 pound mass covered in 2,668 Waterford Crystals and powered by 32,256 LEDS. Beginning this year, the Ball will sit atop One Times Square year-round and add to the brightly lit skyline on 42nd Street and Broadway. Seeing it in person, I couldn’t understand all the fuss. I spent the next hour walking around Rockefeller Center and 5th Avenue, gawking at the tourists taking pictures. I entered the Saks Fifth Avenue wonderland. Not only did they have snowflakes projected on the façade of the buildings, they had a small light show inside. My favorite store front was probably the Cartier building with the 50+ ft bright red light-up ribbon across the front of the building.
I headed back to my boyfriend’s apartment (Colin Fechter ’08) at 5 p.m., thinking that I would beat the rush and street closings. But no, they had already begun. I was forced to wander uptown until finding a street that let pedestrians cross west. I had never seen so many cops in
one place in my entire lifetime. One large Police van was even blasting The Rocky theme song on loudspeaker!I got off the street and into my little black dress. We headed down to our $150-a-head party at Capitale, a swanky club on the Lower West side that was built in 1893 and used to be a bank (I copied the picture on the left from their website...full disclosure). Though I thought the night was pricey, the scene was amazing. It was like the high school prom I never had, and with hundreds of beautiful people between the ages of 20 and 30 years old. For the lovers of the Princeton social scene, it was like Cottage House parties on steroids, but without the terribly repetitive 80s music. There was an open bar and buffet, an enormous dance floor (my favorite), and ceiling lights that changed from red to purple to green. Other studly Princetonians spotted included Colin, Kane Hochster, Amara Suebsang, Chris White, Mark Gober, and Phil Farinacci.
As I write this post a day later, I’m left wondering what other classmates were doing in New York last night. Were you in Times Square? Did you overpay for a mediocre experience? Did you crash a friend’s party and drink for free? If nothing else, I hope you basked in the energy and the common joy of the night.
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