New York - Xmas, 21st, NY

New York
So on the 20th of December I left to go to New York, why? I dunno, if I get the chance to do something incredible, and I have the money, then do it... For me money is rarely an issue, so I always go off and experience things to enhance my mind.
I had my Christmas and my Birthday here on the 18th and opened most of my presents here, they were all nice but obviously, New York was the only thing on my mind. Mum got me some nice things and almost cried by saying how proud she is of me - I dont like soppy things, I dont like tears, but I know what she means. I look at me this time last year, and I look at where I am now... The contrast in difference is almost scary, when I get knocked down to my knees I always come back 100x better and stronger than I was before.

Leaving
Leaving was easy, Mum drove me down on the 19th to Glasgow where she took me out for dinner which was very nice, then she dropped me off to the hotel opposite Glasgow airport and I said goodbye. My hotel room was nice, I went straight to the bar and had a few Gin and Lemonades before going out for a ponder around the airport then back to my room for a bath. The great thing is because I was alone I had my music on loud and walked around naked all night - it was ace!!
I got around 2 hours sleep, and left at around 9am, and arrived in New York at around 12 noon - work that one out. I gave Jack a hug and got a drink straight away. I was exhausted so I was unable to appreciate anything really.
After that Jack called an Uber and we went straight to his University apartment, where amazingly, someone had left their door open for me, so I had my own room. It was a very roomy place and it was ideal for us both to chill out their for the next 5 nights or so. It was great to see him, I love all my friends and people who make effort to stay in touch with me are special people, I love Jack to pieces and I told him that when I left.

Jack goes to Montclair State University, so we had a walk around and it was massive, the size of a little village, it was very impressive. We played football on the football pitch on Christmas eve which was great fun.
Something that did make me laugh was the fact I must have seen around 3000 geese things onsite whilst I was there, weird, but it did make me laugh.
Montclair was nice, it was very stereotypical, a lot of the rich workers in New York will live in a nice house in Montclair and commute in and out of the city on a daily basis....

On the 21st we got the train into the city...
First impressions, yeah, it was nice. Im not a simpleton and Im not fascinated by big shiny buildings or stuff like that, but it was pretty cool. I found the culture side of it all the more interesting - the difference is unreal.
99% of people in the UK are miserable, moody and dont want to know who you are.... Sadly im in the minority of the 1% that isnt like that, Im extremely extra-vertical. In New York 99% of people were lovely, they smiled at you, talked to you non stop, they wanted to know about you and who you were.... Yes, I know its there job because in the US you are on a terrible wage and only top it up by the excellent customer service - but my theory is that this has been driven into the American culture, and it was lovely, it was a real breath of fresh air.
The city was very similar to london in the way traffic and undergrounds go, it was easy to get around. And after a couple of visits I got used to the layout of the streets and avenues.

Christmas though was spent back with Jack in the apartment, we got a tonne of alcohol and lots of food and together we attempted to cook a Christmas dinner... believe it or not, we did it (somehow), it was bloody nice aswell. We opened each others presents, had a great laugh, and just got absolutely hammered. It was a really really nice day.
On the boxing day we had to go into our apartment on 114 E 28th street in Manhattan.

It was really nice, it was very spacious, we both had our own beds, a nice sofa, and jack bought his speakers. It was lovely. And the location was fantastic aswell!
The 27th was my 21st, so we decided to go out on the 26th to celebrate..... Neither of remember a thing. All we remember is that we got into a taxi, didnt get into the club, argued, and came home separately.... Neither of us ever argue, so that part was odd.
I spend my 21st asleep until 3pm, and spent the rest of the day in more pain than Ive ever had before, it was the hangover from hell - its how every single 21st should be spent.
We tried to put all of our memories together but we cant remember what happened and why, it was all rather odd... We didnt drink MASSIVE amounts, so we thought maybe we took something, but we cant remember, but taking something would explain it all.... Oh well.

That was the 27th over with, and on the 28th we went off across to Brooklyn to watch the wrestling, I wasnt overly fussed, but it was great fun, a great laugh. After that we came back to the apartment, got drunk again, then headed back out to another nightclub and got back in at 4am.... That was a better night but we were both still slightly unwell from the events of boxing day!!

The 29th and 30th were days spent not doing much, we did a lot of touristy things obviously. However when we got back in on the 30th Jack explained this nightclub that was open, it sounded really fun but he didnt have much money - I thought screw it, we have an apartment in New York, we are both 21, and Im only here for a couple more days - I gave him £50 and we both went out again... We both got hammered, both pulled some girls in the nightclub, had a great night, and came back to the apartment together hammered before both passing out.

We both woke up on New Years eve feeling good, which was a massive relief because later in the day we were going to 1 OAK, we paid over $200 to be there, one of the best nightclubs in Manhattan where all the a list celebrities go to party.
We took the day slow, both had lots of sleep and ate well before getting on the booze and dressing up nice to hit the club, we both got in with ease.
I didnt see any celebrities but Jack claimed to see Big Sean - frankly you wouldnt even see Justin Bieber in there, because it was that busy....
I was complemented on my shirt around 3 times which always happens because of my odd style, that was a nice touch.
We got in around 11, and had a free bar until 2..... at the start we kept getting vodka and cokes, before realising we were doing it wrong... Why order 2? 1 each??
After that we ordered 4, saving time, therefore we always had 2 drinks each. Was it allowed? I dont know, but people saw what I was doing and called me rather clever for doing that.
We must have had about 16 drinks between us, and it was always grey goose vodka, so frankly a $200 ticket doesnt seem that bad at all!! We had a great night before heading off where we saw two girls in the street - god knows how we started talking to them but we did. Then some guy came across and straight away we had a mini group of 5 people and we all wondered off into the streets of New York looking for another nightclub to party our night away. I stayed with one of the girls all night, she was 28, and she was nice.
We couldnt find anywhere and got bored so we all came back to mine and Jacks apartment, before one by one they all slowly left, my girl left at around 4.45.
Me and Jack sat down and had a nice chat before we both went to sleep at around 5 - waking up on New Years day at around 11am - it was a hard slog - but by far, probably one of, if not the best night out ive ever had... It was so much fun with one of my closest mates, meeting some really nice people.

We left the apartment on the 1st at around 1 and we both got into Jacks apartment and both went to sleep, I couldnt sleep, as always, so I stayed awake.... Then I went to bed at around 10, waking up on the 2nd at around 12... 14 hours in bed.
I left Jacks at 4 in an Uber. Its never ever nice saying goodbye to family and friends you love, but you get used to it after time, knowing Im going to see Jack again soon made it all easier, but it still wasnt hard. I felt sad before we left and I think Jack could see it, I think Jack was a bit upset aswell... I didnt hug him, I just shook his hand, said bye and love ya, and got in the taxi.
I didnt stop chatting to the taxi driver the entire way, once again fitting very well in with the American way of talking to absolute strangers with confidence.

I got on the plane and flew back at around 8pm arriving at 9am, on zero sleep, I slept in the car and slept at home for a bit before going to sleep last night at around midnight, waking up today at 12 noon, and now Im back into my normal routine, and everything kicks off again tomorrow with placement.

What a two weeks Ive had, amazing, not the best two weeks, but definitely some of the best two weeks ive ever had, its opened my eyes to so much more in the world - and I know for a fact that one day I will be back in New York, probably for business.
It wasnt all nice, my wisdom teeth constantly gave me trouble with my jaw and my ears, I was almost always in pain, and with no funded health service I had no access to a doctor and no access to cheap drugs, so it was hard and expensive at times.
I miss it there though, I miss the culture, the people, the city, I miss the way of life of always having something to do, and obviously I miss Jack.

Today I had a solid work out which no doubt I will be feeling tomorrow.

What next though?
Well I have two weeks of placement and work before I have another 2 weeks off completely... The plan was to come home, but Im not sure. I think after 2 weeks of work and placement I will want to come home and see my family and friends again, but instead of mucking around down there I will probably hit the gym every day, start my own business plan and be more serious about it to give myself a feeling of accomplishment instead of coming away from home with nothing done.
I have an emergency dentist appointment tomorrow, so coming home may depend entirely on whether or not Im referred to the hospital to get my wisdom teeth taken out before then....

After that then it will be back to normal.
I hate it up here in Aberdeen though, I really dont like it here. University is doing my head in aswell. Im determined to make 2016 my year, and I want to be successful. I will take each week, each month as it comes, but I have a very good feeling that 2016 will be special.