Let me start off by saying “Sorry.” Again. Yes, I’m apologizing again for lack of activity. Work is continuing to drive me fucking insane. But, I have no other excuses. I’ve been lazy. Plain and simple. I’m entitled to being lazy every so often. But, enough about that.

I’m completely stoked about my forthcoming trip to the Big Apple. Yes, I’m actually going to New York City in mid-May, which could very well be the best time of the year to go. My first and only experience was a day and a half layover with my mom (a flight attendant for Northwest) back in junior high. We rode the Staten Island Ferry. We watched through Wall Street. We shopped at Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s (before both opened stores at the Mall of America back home.) But, of course, at the age 13 or 14, I didn’t get the chance to experience the nightlife that makes The City That Never Sleeps world-famous. I’ve always wanted to make a return trip but as a somewhat independently functioning adult. Well, finally I can now.

So, last week’s nice payday (with the OT work I did) provided me with the means to realize my plan. I purchased my plane ticket on Northwest Airlines’ website. Flying Northwest means layovers in Minneapolis/St. Paul (my hometown). Better yet, I’ll be coming back home the day after Mother’s Day and with an almost four hour layover, I just might be able to see my mother, granted she’s not going to be on a trip that day.

I also managed to book a place to stay while I am out there. Being that NYC is generally a really expensive city, I figured my best option with my limited finances is to reserve a hostel bed. This time around, I’m staying at the Hostelling International hostel near Central Park on Amsterdam Avenue. I’m slightly nervous about leaving personal belongings in a room filled with a rotating crew of six strangers at any given time. But, I did it when I was in San Francisco and London with no troubles. Therefore, I should be fine.

So, with my plane ticket and tickets for live shows I’m attending out there (more on those later), my hostel bed reserved, and the latest edition of the Lonely Planet NYC travel guide in tow, I’m nearly good to go. Now, I just need to watch my finances for the next two months.

One of the aforementioned live shows that brings me to the Big Apple after all these years is this year’s edition of the experimental music festival extravaganza No Fun Fest. I plan to talk about No Fun Fest when it gets closer to showtime.

Because No Fun Fest is in Brooklyn and my hostel is in Manhattan, I anticipate some serious money spent on cabfare. I’d much rather take a cab than try to take the subway or public transit home. Yikes. So, I’m hoping that I’ll be able to afford to have some fun while I am out there. I anticipate that my experience in NYC will be great.

My goal on this blog is to completely document my trip out to NYC, including places I visited, restaurants I ate at, live shows I’ve attended (with photos, hopefully, which means I have to budget in a new digital camera), and bars I frequented. Travel is one of those things I don’t get to do as much as I’d like, but I hope to change that this year. So, I sincerely hope this travel treat that I allowed myself becomes the first of many over the next several months.