As I said before, redeye flights lead to days wasted. But at least it wasn't miserable.
It turns out that our flight delay kind of worked to our favor.
You see, when last I went to Florida with Erico Suave, Angel Wing Jasmine, and MacArthur, we redeyed and arrived in the early morning. Check in times at hotels are always in the afternoon, but we had hoped that they had some extra rooms for early check in. They didn't. So that first day was miserable being dirty and stinky and oily and grimy.
Holla!
We were originally due to land in New York at 8 AM, but because of the 4 hour delay, we landed at noon. It was hotter and muggier than hell as we stepped off the plane. We traveled via subway to the hotel which was to be a simple 2 transfer route, but ended up being a whole backtracking incident due to construction. They're always constructing! So after 2 hours on the subway, we finally got to the hotel and it was check in time! We blasted that AC and showered like myopic pigs.And that was pretty much Day One of our trip. We walked around a bit looking for something to eat and settled on some very delicious looking-yet bland tasting Cuban food. And we met up with Ellvin Kelvin who stayed with us that night. But that was pretty much the day.
And that's when the trip started to go by the books.
Just like zat, the next day brought Ellvin Kelvin's graduation. The day started early with a free breakfast at the school. After meeting some of EK's friends and professors (including one who was so dedicated to his students that he would go in search of struggling students at libraries and nearby studyspots before a major exam to offer assistance), we journeyed to the theater for the ceremony.
Now usually I zone out during ceremonies like this, but since Ellvin Kelvin's girlfriend Amazing Grace was the Student Body President, she had to give a speech. And though her address was riddled with eye jokes that only an optometrist could understand, it was enjoyable. But the guest speaker that took the podium after Amazing Grace was horrid; his actually felt more like a lecture that would not end.But we endured and witnessed with our own eyeballs Ellvin Kelvin and Amazing Grace become doctors. It was actually very cool and surreal. Ellvin Kelvin is a doctor! I can finally get that free pair of colored contact lenses I've wanted since high school!
After
the graduation, I was tapped on the shoulder by a very old (old as in "haven't seen in a while") friend Krystal Baller. Not to harp on the past or anything, but she and I went to a Sadie Hawkins dance together and really, we hadn't spoken in like 10 years. It's hard to believe it's been that long. She goes to the same school Ellvin Kelvin attended in New York and she figured I'd be at the graduation. She said it was easy to pick me out of the crowd because I hadn't changed a bit. Ah ha, friendly smile disappears. Is it really swell to know you haven't changed at all? I mean, hello! I've been working out like, what, once every two weeks? Did she not notice these guns? NRA 4eva!And when everything had wrapped, we went to Saigon Grill for dinner; our family and Amazing Grace's family together 4eva. And here's the tricky part: Father Grace excused himself from the table after the fourth dish or so arrived and took care of the bill. That was very nice of him because it had to have been expensive! And truth be told, it wasn't that great of food. I suppose it's as good as fusion American style asian food can be, but when you have the real stuff, you ain't not never gon' go back playa!
All in all, it was a very nice evening and we really enjoyed Amazing Grace's family. We hope we made an equally good impression, though I'm 96% sure that we were seen as cheap since we didn't arm wrestle over the bill. Just kidding.
So graduation is nice and all, but when you're in New York, you see plays and shows. And I saw a bunch, but I can't get into that now. But rest assured, I'll admit that I'm very embarrassed that this trip report is taking over a month to tell, so I promise I'll end it soon. Really.
To Be Continued.
