So we were planning on seeing a special screening of A Mighty Heart and writing reviews for Gather. We left with plenty of time (five hours) to get to NYC from our South Jersey home.
My brother Joe had agreed to be our driver as a birthday present to me. We were going to pay gas, and food, and tolls though.
One hundred dollars, nine hours, and a lot of agrivation later I sit at home without having attended the movie screening. Why? Because we spent four hours or so stuck in traffic in the city and were completely unable to reach our destination.
People flip you off there. People cut you off there. People try to actively ram your vehicle out of the way if you're somewhere they don't think you should be. Oh, and usually, you're going about two inches every ten minutes for about half an hour.. then there's suddenly a little bit of speeding.. then you're back to crawling again.
Did I mention it rained, and that when I got out of the car to go visit a bathroom - I wound up with two shoes full of water from a huge puddle, and soaked down to the skin?
Oh, and then there was the joy of navigation. Despite the fact that we have a GPS, my brother wanted to print out directions from mapquest, which he insisted were better, despite said traffic problems.
And my new shoes gave me blisters.
And some special 'female problems' started this morning (If you don't know what this means, consider yourself lucky).
Oh, and also? It's MY BIRTHDAY.
Yeah. So that's how my day went. How's yours?
recommend this
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 51
And thank you Janet and Jay.
All the birthday wishes are cheering me up some =) I really needed that.
Seriously I'm sorry you missed the opportunity to go to the special screening and the opportunity to write a review.
They also has these crazy messengers on bikes, who would just weave in and out of traffic.
I'm sorry you had such a horrible experience in my lovely city.
I don't drive and rarely go downtown, so cannot even start to tell you if you evening was typical or not.
I think it's the type of place where I'd have to say, "I like to live there but I wouldn't want to visit..."
You've just summed up why after 2 attempts at driving in NYC when I was young and foolish I have now learned to take the bus in from NJ. Two tries was more than enough and I wouldn't drive there if someone paid me a million dollars. It's not worth the stress and aggravation.
Hope today is a much better day for you!
Sorry you missed your movie screening. :-(
Sounds like the time my in-laws drove in from South Jersey to see Martha Stewart.
And, happy birthday.
Well, Happy Birthday and I hope you did get to do something else special.
Know what you mean about NY. Passed through there in '02. My wife loved it. I'll be happy never to go trhere again.
You guys are very braved to drive into the city, personally I have only taken the bus and the train because it is far cheaper, faster and much less aggravating. I have worked in Manhattan community from Northern New Jersey, and what would sometimes take twenty minutes by bus most often took 1 - 2 hours. Terrible traffic!!
I am going to NYC this summer and am SO glad I don't have to drive. We're taking a bus tour. Mind you, there's still frustration, but it's just plain hard to be mad at a drive taking too long when you're surrounded by 85 year olds (I'm going with my grandmother).