New York, New .... Jersey?

Things I Have Learned So Far While In New York For A CUNY Grad Conference:

- There are two Penn stations. When the man at the air train tells you to get off at Penn Station, he actually means do not get off at Penn Station, but rather stay on the train and wait for the next Penn Station. Otherwise, you will find you are still in New Jersey.

- Always book a hotel right next to the Empire State Building. That way, you can step out of the train station and go 'hm, Eighth Avenue, but is Fifth this way or ... oh, what is that I see looming right over the skyline over there? Right, that way it is.'

- There are many jobs in the world that I Do Not Want. Current top is standing on the street corner holding up the sign that says 'Dunkin Donuts ---->'.

- There really are a lot of yellow taxis.

- No wonder America spawns so many superheroes that fly or leap from building to building. Their streets are canyons.

- They really do offer you cheesecake for breakfast. The place I'm sitting in now even looks like the place where they have the wager over cheesecake or strudel in the Frank Sinatra film of Guys and Dolls. (I am being non-iconic and eating yoghurt with fruit and muesli.)

- It is possible to get decent pizza in New York. As, not three inches deep and drowned with cheese and containing vegetables (if any) that have not been freeze-dried for years.

- And I haven't even gone to the conference yet. Registration is in 45 minutes. The question becomes, after a night spent waking up all the time to the dulcet tones of New York car horn conversations, will I have the brain left by 3 pm to give an engaged and energetic performance? Well, if not, one simply regards it as a performance and falls back on old stage training!