My Thanksgiving was different from any Thanksgiving past. I didn't actually get to see any family...at all. Instead, I was able to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade up close and personal, work (oh joy) and then jet to Long Island to share desserts and laughs with a friend.
My first thoughts of this upcoming Turkey Day were as follows: "This is gonna be the pits." I was completely bummed, dreading my scheduled work from 12-8pm. Since my shift was smack in the middle of the celebratory day, getting to my aunt's home on Long Island before work or after work would both be ungodly; no one would be around! I was sad, but I thought I'd be able to at least spend the day with friends from work, presuming my schedule would follow the same pattern. All of us crazies from the night shift would go to my friend Jen's place in BK for a brunch of sorts, where we'd share a tastey meal and then grudgingly head to work together. However, that expectation fell through when my schedule was changed. So here I was- planless for Thanksgiving.
It was then that I preceded to whine like an emo baby on my facebook's status, writing something along the lines of: "I just want to be with people I love on Thanksgiving." I actually received some comments of sentiment, and one invite from a New Paltz friend to come over her house in Nassau, no matter how late! I wasn't going to take her up on the offer, feeling I would be intruding on her family, but she insisted. I talked to my mom about it and she told me that my friend Angela was my Thanksgiving Angel ;) and I should go. So I did!
But before I get into that, I'm sure you want to hear about my parade experience. Well, I woke up early, dressed and packed for later, and then went to my work. I arrived a little before 9am. It was there that a police officer was going to escort me over to a section on 7th Avenue right outside the NYPD office. I felt so odd that I somehow had a connection of sorts in the city, but here I was, walking past barricades and onto 7th Ave. I could feel many eyes either grazing past me or sticking onto me as I followed the officer in the middle of the street. I tried to suppress a smile and compose a-nonchalant-like-appearance as hundreds of bundled faces watched me walk from behind their sidewalk limitations. I can't help but admit that I felt important, even though I was doing nothing of importance.
I then entered a section with several other people who must be friends or friends of friends or family of the NYPD. I felt totally out of place, but that feeling quickly subsided once the floats started coming down! I really had such a great view! I felt myself smiling sporadically throughout the entire parade. I could only describe it as the trite expression goes: I felt like a kid in a candy store. Everything was so close and so humungo! I even took some pictures of some stars (oo la la!) Here, I guess this is the point of the blog where I show you some of those snapshots! (I tried to condense them as best as I could...)
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| Opening of the parade! |
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| Tom the Turkey |
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| Snoopy! |
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| My favorite picture of the day. |
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| Blocks in sync. |
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| Miranda Cosgrove from the TV show iCarly. |
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| The United States Pizza Team. |
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| Who knew Macy's had their own cheerleaders? |
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| Spongebob was quite the kiddy crowd pleaser! |
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| Looks like "shady" dealings. |
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| OH NO! |
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| Big Time Rush...a band that's taken over Disney. They're all pretty enough... |
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| Kanye West showing off how truly unfriendly he is. This man sucks. |
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| My spidey senses are tingling. |
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| Gladys Knight all smily. |
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| Jessica Simpson...this coat is too tight and just NOT flattering! She has so much money...she couldn't find another coat? |
Alrighty! So the Parade was a big success and one of the most thrilling, heart-warming experiences I've ever had! It really was miraculous. I wanted to leave around 11:15 or so. In no way did I want to be late for my shift. However, I found a slight dilemma....how was I going to cross the street and get back to work?! I went up to a lady officer and told her my concerns. She then escorted me over to a Traffic Controller, and once there was a lull in the parade, he escorted me across to the street I needed. Amazing! I entered work in an ecstatic mood!
And as soon as work was over, I jetted over to Penn station, bought an Oreo cake that looked quite scrumptious and headed to Nassau County via LIRR! I was greeted by my friend Angela with many hugs and exclamations. I couldn't believe I was with her on Thanksgiving! I haven't seen her since the early summer time. We both graduated from New Paltz with our undgrad in 2010.
I entered their humble abode to a plate of all the Thanksgiving food heated up in the microwave! I felt so blessed and happy that I was able to enjoy the food one waits all year long for, while getting to catch up with Angela and her sister. It was a ton of laughs. Look for yourself!
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| A nice shot of Angela and I during our Apples to Apples game. |
Well, although my Thanksgiving was out of the norm, it truly was something to be thankful for.
Hope your Thanksgiving holiday was a special one too.
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